Tora the Ten Tailed Cat
by Doegewoonwat
Summary: Follow Tora the once almighty and gracious ruler of the world as she tries to regain her stolen power. The journey of her beautiful self and her favourite human Naruko as they struggle in search of the other Nine Tailed Cats. Female Naruto with catfeatures!
1. Chapter 1

**Tora the Ten Tailed Cat. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. What I do want to own however… is a cat :3 This is one of the ideas I randomly came up with when I was talking with a friend about a vampire cat that brought doom to the world and made other vampires but the only way to stop them was to kill the cat… but nobody knew the cat started it because… cat. I want to make Tora like a true cat, awesome!**

* * *

I am known by many names, you might have heard about them. The demon cat, the destroyer of Genin, the regal beauty, the magnificent Tora, the most beautiful being in the world and my favourite and forgotten title… the ten tailed Tora.

Yes, I once had ten tails, I was the most magnificent cat ever to be seen in the world. In fact, I ruled the world in ancient history, this was the time when cats ruled over humans and they were our pets, not the other way around.

A long time ago this world was my kingdom and I was the generous ruler and cat that governed over all. The lands were split into pieces for my enjoyment and humans had to do my bidding and fulfil their roles. The desert in the land of wind, my litterbox; the large spires in the land of lightning, my scratching posts; the forests in the land of fire, my personal playground and many more!

It was a wonderful time where everybody enjoyed themselves, there was no war and I even gave my pets beautiful collars to show my appreciation.

But one day that all changed… you see, as the world was mine to control that also meant that everything in it was my property. But some didn't agree to this, one instance was the case with the millennial fish, a great feast that only appeared once in a thousand years!

Some filthy humans tried to steal my property but it was for naught, my favourite pet also known as the Sage of Six Nyas had taken the fish and gave it to me as an offering.

I graciously accepted this and began eating my well-deserved feast, not realizing that this pet had become a traitor… he put a seal on the fish and when I had devoured it and began licking my paws in satisfaction I began to shrink!

The magnificent and all powerful I began to lose my powers! I turned into a much smaller version of myself and was forced to look on as all my power was split into nine pieces also known as the nine tailed cats… The traitor gave me a collar that would forever bind me to this form and presented me to the Land of Fire's Daimyo, one of my former pets.

The pet didn't recognize me in this form and gave me to his wife, and since then I have forever been in that family passed down from wife to wife as some sort of prize. I have to admit, I am a great prize, but them doing so without my permission was not to my liking!

I've lived for centuries in this tiny almost powerless form in immortality, cursed to never die and be used as a plaything. Over the course of this life I began to accept my terrible and unjust fate, I made the village of Konoha my playground once again and graced them with my presence.

Whenever my new owner would stop hugging me with those bone crunching shows of affection I ran away to my playground and sneaked through the streets. Fish went missing left and right and I purred in satisfaction, that was until some brats which I used as playthings went after me.

Apparently catching me had become a sort of mission given to young children and believe me when I say this but I took my sweet time in tormenting them. The humans didn't know that I was still able to use a small amount of my former power, they call it chakra nowadays. With this I clung to walls and hid in shadows, the brats didn't stand a chance. Every now and then they caught me when I graciously let them as the village clock signalled it was nearing dinnertime, I was then taken back to my owner for my well-deserved feast and the next day it would start all over again. Yes, a feast, my owner had one thing going for her and that was the desire to give me the finest foods, if not for that then I would never go back here.

A few years later an event happened that I thought would change my life forever, the nine tailed cat attacked Konoha when it noticed signs of me. Sadly it was repelled and disappeared, but I knew the nine tailed cats were not lost to the world yet. Years passed and I kept going to Konoha as a playground and hoped one of my pieces of power would appear again…

During one of the days I went to my playground something happened, I was chased by the brats yet again but this time I ran into an unfamiliar alley and lost them in the process. What I saw there was something I did not expect…

* * *

 _( Flashback )_

 _I ran into the alley with all the speed I could muster and hid in the shadows of a dumpster. A minute went by in silence as I lost the brats that chased me. The silence was soon broken as I heard sniffling come from behind me… I looked for the source and there I saw it, a little blonde girl crying in a corner with a rag to cover herself._

 _I became curious and walked up to her, she and her scent seemed familiar? "Miauw?"_

 _The girl lifted her head and it struck, I saw what caused the familiar feeling! The little girl had two small cat ears on top of her head and six orange whiskers on her cheeks! I knew why she seemed so familiar, she had a part of my power inside of her, the nine tailed cat to be precise. She had sky blue eyes and spiky blonde hair, I had to admit, she was extremely cute even for my standards._

 _Walking up to her I continued gently miauwing and hoped that it would calm her down "Kitty?"_

 _The girl went on her knees and wiped away her tears, only now did I notice how extremely dirty and ragged she looked. The little clothes she wore were torn, dirt covered her entire body and she was malnourished, it pained me to see a girl like her in such conditions…_

 _She held out her little hand and eagerly looked at me, hoping that I would grace her with my affection… I did… How could I resist one like her? She began to pet me with her hands and giggled "So soft, you're so pretty kitty"_

 _She seemed to appreciate the beauty that was me and I gave her a tiny lick on the face to show my appreciation. "Tora?" she saw my collar and the name writing on top of it "Tora-chan?"_

" _Miauw" she sat down and continued to stroke my fur, I eventually got up to her lap and we sat there in bliss for almost an hour, just the two of us in silence. I heard the sounds of the brats nearing our location and gave the girl a final look before I got off her lap "Miauw…"_

" _You have to go Tora-chan?" she seemed saddened and I even saw a lonely expression began to surface, one final lick to her hand and she seemed to understand my answer "You're coming back?"_

" _Miauw!"_

" _Then I'll see you later DattebaNya, goodbye Tora-chan"_

 _DattebaNya? Cute… I decided to come look for her every time I went to my playground, she was my new favourite human._

* * *

( Flashback End )

Over the course of the years I got to know the girl better and even found out her name. She was often called the demon brat but sometimes her name would be called as well, it was Naruko. I also found out which power she held, you see it is not just the tailed cat that was inside of her but also a part of my personality and power. Hers was the gift of luck and beauty, the personality trait that she'd gotten was my determination and will to have fun.

I began thinking about my other powers and could already think of some that must have been given to the others. The power of my litterbox, which is moving sand. The power of roasting fish which is blue flames and some others that were still questionable, only time would tell if I would ever see them again.

But the power of luck was by far the strongest, it would cause strikes that were fatal to miss or she would find money on the ground and by far her biggest stroke of luck was meeting the Ichiraku! The only place in Konoha that would give her food and even provided it free of charge saying that a girl needed to grow strong. Oh wait I forgot, her greatest moment of luck was of course meeting me!

During the years there was one more thing that changed in Naruko, it seemed that her powers grew stronger with age, when she turned five years old she had gotten a small orange tail. It was the cutest thing ever!

Today was one of the common days where I would spend most of my time with Naruko, she was no longer malnourished and ragged, or at least less. The cats that lived in the village also noticed her existence and began bringing her food and clothes that were found lying around, little Naruko had grown to be the catlady of the village and she loved it!

They cuddled her and there was always at least one cat sitting either on her lap or wanting her attention, but I was still her favourite Tora-chan. Whenever she saw me the other cats would part ways and give me the room I deserved.

"Tora-chan!" Naruko noticed me and ran towards me for a hug, in my gracious mood I let her and licked her face as a show of affection.

"I left some fish for you Tora-chan, do you want some fish?"

"Miauw" damn you humans for taking away my speech for now I can only answer with a simple miauw, I wish I could speak with this girl but sadly I can't…

Naruko picked me up and held me to her chest as I purred in delight, I will never tire of this girl and especially her smell is intoxicating. She smells like my old glorious self and I can almost taste the raw power that saturates the air around her…

I spent my time eating fish, lying in her lap and playing with her as she giggled and laughed. It was nice but over the years I've noticed that spending too much time with her could cause trouble, the Genin that have to catch me would find Naruko and claim she either stole me or is torturing me.

Therefore I stayed until the cats gave the signal for me to leave, I gave Naruko one final lick on the face and jumped from her lap. "See you tomorrow Tora-chan!"

"Miauw" as I was walking away I noticed something on top of the roofs, a man had spotted me leaving Naruko's alley and grinned wickedly. I shuddered to think what would happen as this was apparently one of the shinobi that hated Naruko and was out to get her numerous times before…

The man jumped from the roof "Finally found you cat and you filthy demon, have you been torturing her again?" the man caught me and threw me in the air as three brats with a similar grin caught me.

The man proceeded to beat up poor Naruko until she was whimpering from the pain and begging for it to stop "Tss you fucking demon, I should just kill you! But the Hokage would find out…"

He suddenly grinned as an idea came up in his mind "But… the daimyo would be fine with killing you if I tell him that you've been torturing Tora!"

"Brats!"

"Sensei!"

"Take out a kunai and injure the cat, but don't kill her at any cost! Make her bleed"

They looked at me with murder in their eyes "Gladly! Finally you fucking cat, it's time for payback!"

I screamed and tried to scratch them as they cut my beautiful fur up and even grinded me through the dirt a couple of times!

"Good work brats, take the cat, we're going to the Daimyo!"

An hour later we arrived at the palace, the guards parted as they saw me in tatters and fear could be seen in their eyes. Not long after we were let into the Daimyo's throne room and the brutal man that assaulted Naruko 'gently' grabbed me and held me out to the Daimyo as he went on his knees.

"My lord, I found your wife's cat Tora as she was brutally being tortured by the demon brat over there. I punished her and took her to you for your judgement."

"Tora! My precious Tora-chan!" the Daimyo's wife saw me with tears in her eyes and ran as fast as her fat ass could take her. She took me into her arms and held me with a bone crunching hug, if it wasn't for my immortality then I would've died a million times over while in her care.

I heard Naruko whimper in pain and crying on the ground, I struggled out of the embrace of death and ran up to Naruko, licking her face and brushing up against her.

The Daimyo gave the four that brought us a questionable look "So, you claim that she tortured Tora? Then tell me, why does my wife's cat run up and show affection to the one that apparently tortured her?"

"My lord, the demon has tricked the cat and used her demon magic!"

The Daimyo looked on as his wife walked up to Naruko with curiosity in her eyes. She made some circles around her and I saw stars appear in her eyes "The girl's got a tail, and cat ears! Honey, I want her!"

"…"

"You what?"

"I want her! And I also want whoever did this to her and Tora-chan executed!" the group of four began sweating profusely and fear was seen on their faces.

"My dear wife, are you sure about this?"

"I am! Tora has never shown affection to anybody quite like this, the girl didn't harm Tora-chan, they did!" his wife pointed towards the shinobi of Konoha.

"I am well aware of the fact that the girl didn't harm Tora, but why do you want to take her in?"

"She's a catgirl! Look at her, she's magnificent only second to my Tora-chan!" I thought my 'owner' was a stupid fat broad, but it seems I was wrong! She instantly noticed that Naruko didn't torture me, she knew it was the four that hurt me but most of all, she knows I'm magnificent second to none!

"Very well, but you must leave the decision to the girl. Guards, take the criminals and execute them, then give the Hokage a report on what transpired."

"Hai my lord!"

"No, you can't do this! It was the demon, she did it!"

A clean stroke from a sword and his head fell to the ground "Don't lie to my lord, it's obvious it wasn't the girl!"

Wow nicely done, I'm liking this place more and more, it seems I was really wrong about everybody being an idiot. I walked up to my 'owner' and decided to show her a little bit of appreciation for her efforts. She picked me up in a questionable hug and for the first time ever I licked her face.

"Tora-chan, you licked me! You want me to take in the girl, don't you?!"

"Miauw"

"It's settled, guards take her to my guest room and have her treated, as of now she is my guest. Honey inform the Hokage that the girl is with me"

"…Yes dear" it was all too obvious who was the one in power in this relationship, just like any other relationship the woman was the one in command. They sometimes allow their husbands to think they're actually in control, but everybody knows it isn't true.

I saw two guards gently pick up Naruko and we walked through the corridors towards her new glamorous room, they lay Naruko on the bed. "Madam, I will get our best medics."

Only fifteen minutes later and Naruko was fully healed… but she was still frightened from the experience and clung onto the blanket hoping that it would protect her. "Naruko-chan, I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Shijimi and you're safe here"

My fat owner sat down in a chair next to her and gently smiled. "You're… you're not?"

The experiences Naruko had with other humans were often awful, sometimes they acted nice just to betray her the next second and beat her up. Other times they straight up just beat her up for fun, therefore she had grown wary of other humans, even ones that seemingly meant well.

The fat broad obviously noticed this and waited for Naruko to calm down "I'm not Naruko-chan, don't worry. Guards, leave me"

"Hai Madam"

"See, my two scary guards are leaving, don't be afraid."

I saw Naruko lift her head from the blanket a bit more and she still looked doubtful but had given an opening. "Scary men… gone?"

I jumped up to Naruko's bed to calm her down further and licked her face "Tora-chan!"

She hugged me and began sobbing "I thought they hurt you!"

"My Tora-chan seems to like you"

"Your Tora-chan? She's your kitty?"

"She is, it seems you appreciate her beauty Naruko-chan, but you are almost just as beautiful as Tora-chan"

Naruko flustered and blushed "I.. I'm not… I'm nobody…"

"You're not a nobody Naruko-chan, you're you. Naruko… you're alone, aren't you?"

Naruko saddened and nodded her head.

"Then… do you want to live with me? Where nobody will ever hurt you? I can give you this room and you will have a family."

"…Family? Nobody will hurt me?"

I saw that my owner seemed to slowly convince Naruko and appreciated what she did, it seemed that my owner wasn't the person I thought she was. Apparently she's kind and gentle to those that deserve it, but doesn't show it to many. I wouldn't mind sharing Naruko with her if it meant that the girl was safe.

"Miauw"

"And you will have Tora-chan with you wherever you go, would you like that?"

Naruko looked at me with determination in her eyes "Tora-chan, do you want me to stay?"

"Miauw!" Kami yes I would!

"Hn! Then I will!"

This was the biggest stroke of luck that Naruko had ever had, the beating she received may have looked unlucky but the resulting event was nothing but the opposite. She had gotten a home and maybe even a family, the constant pain and suffering she received stopped from this day forward.

* * *

( One year later, Daimyo's palace )

I was watching over Naruko as she ran through the palace corridors with me in her arms, over the last year she had grown close with both the Daimyo and his wife and the latter even called her a daughter on occasion. Naruko used the palace as her playground especially the many gardens and courtyards were often visited and she was never able to sit still. This caused me to never go to my previous playground, I had no more reason to visit it as my favourite human was right here with me.

"Naruko-chan, come over here, I have some news!"

"Haaai!"

We went up to my owner and saw her seated in a garden chair with a large assortment of treats lying on the table. "Miauw" Naruko got the hint and sat down, took some of my favourite treats and put them in front of me.

"Naruko-chan, you said you wanted to become a ninja?"

"I do DattebaNya! They're so cool!" the little girl had always wanted to become one and told me many times, but never had the chance. Nobody would take her seriously or help her in any way, until now. My owner already knew this over the year she stayed here but told her that if she still wanted to become one after a whole year, she would help her become one.

"So you're still hanging on to that, fine I told you I would help and so I shall."

The woman snapped her fingers and behind her appeared three men and one woman. "These are four of our Ninja Guardians, Naruko, meet Seito, Asuma, Tou and Chiriku."

The four put their hands together in front of them and slightly bowed "We greet the young lady"

Naruko gave a cute smile back "Hi! I'm Naruko!"

"You might've seen them before, they are the ones that guard our family together with a few others. Our guardians have agreed to train you in their spare time, however they have some requirements. Chiriku tell her of the requirements."

"Hai Madam! Naruko-san my name is Chiriku. As stated we will provide you with training if you meet our requirements. Requirement one, you will train under our supervision without any complaints, you will do as we say when we say without question. Requirement two, you train to the best of your abilities every single day and the last requirement, you will let Tou pet your tail…"

Hey wait just a minute, nobody pets my human! How dare she come with that requirement, that's blackmail!

"Miauw, miauw! Miauw!" damn this seal! I have to stop her or it's too late!

"You want me to accept Tora-chan?"

"Miauw!"

Naruko looked at me questionable and I hoped she understood my message… but I failed in my task.

"Okay, I accept!" I looked on in horror as the woman of the group flashed from her position and appeared behind my human, Naruko purred with glee and I knew what was wrong..

"So soft… this tail, it's perfection…"

Don't you dare touch my human! I jumped out of Naruko's arm and tried to scratch the one that dared transgress on my property! "Tora-chan what's wrong? I thought you liked me!"

I did! The human always gave me treats and the attention that I deserved, but this went too far! I hissed at her and she finally backed off from my property, Naruko was safe…

My owner laughed at the exchange "Tora-chan doesn't like it when somebody touches Naruko-chan so watch out."

"Sorry Tou-san…"

The woman stood up and smiled "Don't worry, it was worth it! But don't call me that… you make me sound like I'm your father."

"Then what…"

"Just Tou, plain and simple Tou is fine."

The bald monk walked up to us with the ever serious expression on his face, I have never seen that man smile in all the years I've seen him now that I think of it.

"We expect great things of you Naruko-san, remember your promise and you will become a fine shinobi soon. I will take my leave, we will begin training in two days at 8 in the morning."

He walked away from us and the others went with him, I saw the woman Tou look back at Naruko a few times with stars in her eyes.. that woman is dangerous.

"So Naruko-chan that's settled, take your training seriously and maybe you will even become one of our guards later on! But now, I will take my leave. I'll see you two at dinner"

Naruko picked me up and skipped in circles "I'm going to become a Ninja DattebaNya!"

I couldn't help but purr in her arms and lick her face, this was what my human wanted and I would accept her decision. But that doesn't mean I will let her out of my sight, if anything I would keep my eyes on her even more!

"Miauw"

"Thank you Tora-chan, shall we play some more?"

* * *

 **I hope you liked it so far, it's cat themed and will become more cat and ninja themed later on. Spoiler alert, ninja cat :3 I would like to hear suggestions and see if I can incorporate them into my story! I also need six more cat powers for the nine tailed cats.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. I do however want to own a cat…**

 **The second chapter of Tora the ten-tailed cat! There's a bit of a time skip as I couldn't quite think of what I could do before this. The only thing I could think of was Naruko spending day after day in the palace and that would make a boring story. So therefore this skip, if you think I did wrong then please say so and give advice, I'll gladly make a chapter in between the two if that's better! Also if you find some things that are Meh in this story and think I should do things differently from now on, please say so… I'm kinda afraid that this one isn't good enough to post but I have no idea what to change about it! I've also been watching a lot of Jaiden Animations on Youtube and if you don't know who that is… I can understand why, but she's fun anyway!**

* * *

I was walking through my old playground together with my favourite pet human Naruko who was now ten years old. The years went by quick and my human trained a lot to become the best Ninja there ever was, I spend the days watching her while eating snacks and I have to say it was exhausting! Every day just watching her jump up and down, left and right, it tired me out…

So I took my human on my well-deserved day off, she held me against her chest and stroked my precious fur as we were walking through the streets. Most of the people just ignored us or looked at my human with contempt… the vicious rumours and insults that were whispered behind her back had ceased as nobody would dare insult the Daimyo's family. Yes, she was now officially part of the family, she was a surrogate daughter and they treated her as such.

We went towards the park where I used to spend my precious time and a most wonderful aroma reached us… I fell to the ground and with the utmost grace as I wondered where my pet human disappeared to in a puff of smoke.

CHOMP "My…m…my hand!"

I looked at the source and saw Naruko had her whole mouth wrapped around a girl's hand with the satisfied expression of a cat on her face. The girl turned bright red and tried waving the hand up and down but my human was reluctant to let go in the bliss she was experiencing.

"fwishcookwi owmnwom"

Ah her weakness, the girl held a fishcookie, how dare this girl trick my pet into submission! I ran up to them and prepared my claw of righteous punishment only for the girl to have stars in her eyes "Kitty!" She ignored Naruko that was still chomped to her hand and got on her knees while holding another fish cookie towards me…

You're not going to trick me that easily you human! CHOMP "Eeek my hands!"

Naruko now had two hands stuck in her mouth and I was honestly wondering how she could fit the both of them inside her tiny mouth? Obviously the laws of physics don't apply to fishcookies... The girl fainted and lay on the ground with steam coming out of her ears, you deserved that human for tricking my pet!

I went up to Naruko and gently licked her face in hope that it would return her to her sanity, this day off was not going to be ruined just yet!

"Towa-cwan?"

It worked! She regained her sanity and left two drool covered hands behind her "Oeps… I smelled fish cookies and suddenly I found myself in bliss… who's the girl? And why is she passed out?" Naruko tilted her head in confusion and I just sighed, this always happens when her addiction comes into play, it's like catnip for her.

"Miauw" not wanting to spend more time with the sorry excuse of a girl I walked away with my head stuck high "Tora-chan, wait for me!" just as predicted my pet followed me and soon we went back to on trip.

Only a few minutes later and *Grumble Growl* "Tora-chan… I'm hungry"

You're always hungry! "Miauw" Fine… I'll take some time of my busy schedule and get us some food, onward to the only place in Konoha that is worthy of my presence!

"Welcome to Ichiraku's! Ah Naruko-chan, Tora-chan! It's been far too long!"

Indeed this godly establishment has the finest cuisine worthy of my refined pallet, their fish ramen was divine but their Tora special, now that was food worthy of the gods!

"Teuchi-san! Can we… can we have some ramen?" Naruko shyly asked.

He laughed and smiled as he stroked my fur, this was one of the humans that was worthy of stroking my fur and I always offered him one chance to do so as payment for our meals. "Anything for the two of you, two Tora and Naruko specials coming up!"

"Ayame-chan, prepare the special broth!"

"Haaai Tou-san!"

A godly fish smell started coming from the kitchen and the two of us couldn't help but drool, it may not have been the most sophisticated sight but this ramen was worth it. We ate our fill and went our way as we noticed a group of children Naruko's age standing near a building in the distance, my pet looked at this with a slightly saddened face and expression of longing, I could tell what was wrong.

Even if she loved my presence she still desired interaction with others her age "Let's go Tora-chan… it's time to go back home…" what?! She didn't want to go towards them?!

"Miauw, Miauw!"

I saw as her tail and ears hung flat which signalled that she was extremely sad, miauwing at her wouldn't cheer her up, the only thing I could do was cuddle and lick her.

* * *

( Back at home )

We were eating dinner with the Daimyo and his wife, or better said Naruko's new parents. I noticed she was just pricking her food with the fork and still had a gloomy air around her… "Miauw…"

"Naruko-chan… what's wrong?" Thanks fatty I appreciate the help, maybe I'll even let you hug me as a reward. Maybe…

"Naruko-chan… Naruko-chan!"

"Hm? Sorry Kaa-san… it's just… I saw some kids my age having fun together and…"

Her head slumped down even more… "You wanted to have fun with them, didn't you?"

"Hn…."

"Naruko-chan, you don't have to be sad… in fact, we were about to tell you something that might cheer you up."

Her head shot up and she looked at them in expectation "Really?!"

The two nodded towards their daughter "Your tutors say that you've grown strong but that you need to work together with others your age, so we've been thinking. You need to have at least one year of academy experience in order to be put in teams. So, how about you stay with us one more year and then we put you in the academy when you turn eleven?"

"Really?! Thank you thank you thank you!" she jumped up from her chair and skipped in circles before she ran up to me and gave a bone crunching hug as she continued in her moment of excitement… I didn't mind such a hug this time, but only because it was from Naruko.

"No need to thank us Naruko-chan you've made the both of us proud. Now let's continue our dinner!"

"I'm going to go to school DattebaNya!"

* * *

( The next day )

"Good morning Chiriku-sensei!" Naruko ran up to her sensei of the day as I sat on top of her head, one of my three favourite spots, the others of course being her chest and lap.

"Good morning Naruko-san"

She pouted "Why do you still call me that! You're so stiff…"

"It is my duty as your tutor to train you, as it is my job I have no time for informalities. Are you ready for the morning spar?"

Another person came walking our way and I sighed in annoyance, this one was the most dangerous out of all her tutors, this one continuously tried to steal me pet!

"Naruko-chaaaaan"

My trustworthy pet dodged to the side as the menace jumped towards my… I mean her, tail. "Sorry Tou-sensei but Tora-chan doesn't like it when others touch my tail…"

"I was so close… damn this, I will pet it again one day!" Tou was on her hands and knees on the ground as a gloomy expression hung around her, just like she deserves! Take that you thief, nobody touches my Naruko-chan without permission!

"Tou, why are you interrupting our morning session? Your duty is tomorrow, it is improper behaviour to barge in like this unannounced."

You tell her baldy! I liked this one though, even if he wasn't a beauty to behold like us he never dared touch Naruko without my permission, the baldy at least knew his place!

"…But I missed Naruko-chan… she's so adorable…"

Damn right she is!

The baldy pointed to the side-lines and his expression grew even more stern "Sit over there Tou and don't interrupt us any further or I will tell our lord"

"Okay… meh I was so close…"

"Naruko it is time for the spar, is Tora-san going to be included this time or will she watch?"

My pet went on her knees and put out her two hands in front of her "What do you think Tora-chan?" I jumped down from her head and thought about it… although the feeling of working together with my pet is nice, it is still unladylike to do when unnecessary. I put my paw on Naruko's left palm.

"No? Okay Tora-chan." I walked away to the side-lines but sat down a fair distance away from the menace just to be sure she wouldn't try anything.

Naruko's eyes became slightly red with a slit down the middle, her nails elongated and turned into cat claws. The ears and tail grew slightly and became a bit hairier, it made her look even more like a cat than she already did and it was a beauty to behold!

* * *

 _( Flashback )_

 _Naruko woke up one morning as I was sleeping on her stomach and I could tell she had a strange dream by the way she looked._

" _Tora-chan… I dreamed really weird…"_

" _Miauw?"_

 _She began stroking my fur "I woke up in some kind of sewer and saw a really pretty cat sleeping in a cage… it looked so sad… then I woke up and I felt sad myself…" she wiped away something she felt on her face and it turned out to be a tear._

 _I had a hunch as to what she saw but had no way of telling her what it was…_

 _Over the next few weeks she kept having the same dream every night and I could see bags forming under her eyes from the lack of sleep, each time she told me that she could come nearer to the cage but that the cat was just sleeping there. During the last dream she saw something special about the cat, it had nine tails, I already knew what it was but this confirmed it._

 _The final dream though, that turned out to be special. I suddenly woke up as an extremely familiar feeling rushed over me and saw a red glow coming from my Naruko-chan, I didn't grow worried though, I just had to watch over her until she woke up._

* * *

 _( Naruko Mindscape )_

 _Naruko found herself in the same dream as usual and tried walking up to the pretty cat, the nine magnificent orange tails swayed around it as she just stared at them with stars in her eyes. "Pretty…" she totally ignored the sewer around her._

" _ **So my jailor has finally deci…ded…to….. damn you're cute!"**_

 _Naruko stumbled and fell on her butt "You're awake!"_

 _The cat huffed at her from behind the bars and a warm stream of air tickled her as she began giggling._ _ **"So, girl… you're my new jailor?"**_

 _Naruko tilted her head "Jailor?"_

" _ **You don't know, do you?" 'Damn she's cute, I should hate her for holding me here but this is just unfair, just look at her! She's like a tiny kitten!'**_

 _Naruko cutely shook her head in confusion, she honestly thought this was just a dream with a pretty cat, that was behind bars… why was it behind bars? "Kitty, why are you behind bars?"_

' _ **Kitty? I'm ten metres tall and she's calling me a kitty?! Okay…'**_

" _ **Girl stop being so darn cute! And did you never notice the strange marks on your stomach?"**_

" _My kitty birthmark?"_

' _ **She's far too innocent, but I don't mind that, better than a hyperactive blonde idiot that would shout to everybody…'**_

" _ **Girl, that's not a birthmark, and this isn't a dream. That thing on your stomach is a seal, tell me girl what happened on October tenth?"**_

" _October tenth?" she began thinking and a lightbulb flashed over her head "I know! The Nine tailed cat… it… attacked Konoha… Kitty, you have nine tails?"_

" _ **Go on, and when were you born?"**_

" _Octo…ber… tenth… Kitty, are you a bad kitty?"_

" _ **I'm not… I'll tell you what happened that day. One day I felt a familiar feeling coming from Konoha and I went to see what it was, I didn't mean to attack the village at all and showed no sign of aggression. However… your village didn't see it like that and attacked me instead, they forced me to defend myself and as a result parts of Konoha got destroyed."**_

" _ **Then it happened, your third Hokage jumped in front of me and sealed me away inside of a small baby, that baby…"**_

" _Was me…"_

 _The Nine tailed cat nodded_ _ **"I'm sorry for what happened girl, it was not my intention… I just wanted to see where the feeling came from."**_

" _You're the one that gave me these ears and tail?"_

" _ **I did?"**_

" _Thank you thank you thank you thank you!"_

"… _ **You don't mind?"**_

" _I love them!_

"… _ **They do look cute on you… girl, what's your name?"**_

" _Naruko! What's your name kitty?" she beamed and ran to the cage looking up to the ten-metre-tall 'cute' cat._

' _ **My name, it's been a while since somebody asked me that, but why not… I'm going to be stuck with her for a while and in all honesty, I like her.'**_

" _ **Kuranya, my name is Kuranya the nine-tailed cat."**_

" _Nice to meet you! Are we…are we friends?" she shyly held her head down with a blush._

" _ **Friends?"**_

" _Y…yeah… I don't have any friends except for Tora-chan…do you want to be my friend?"_

' _ **Poor kid… having me inside her must've made her an outcast.'**_

"… _ **Sure Naruko-chan, but it's time for you to go to sleep. How about we continue some other time?"**_

" _Okay! Goodnight Kuranya!"_

" _ **Goodnight Naruko-chan, see you later."**_

* * *

 _( Mind scape end )_

 _My pet Naruko calmed down and went back to sleep as the red glow receded, I knew the two had talked to each other and smiled before I went to sleep myself._

 _Over the course of the years she talked with Kuranya almost every night, they grew close and Kuranya even let her use some of his powers. At the start she was only able to use a tiny bit of it, but this amount grew as she trained and used it more often, it also changed her features as she used it and became more catlike as a result._

* * *

( Flashback end )

"Nyaaa let's goooo" she jumped at Chiriku and slashed her claws, two red claw marks shot towards him and the baldy sidestepped them. Naruko didn't stop her assault and twisted her path to continue!

"Paw paw paw paw paw!" that was one of the quirks she'd gotten every time she attacked in this catmode, she would call out the attacks in excitement, they've told her numerous times to stop but so far it wasn't successful.

"You'll have to do better than that Naruko-san." Even if the man made it look like she was mediocre at best this wasn't the case. Naruko was extremely fast in this mode and was even able to produce several afterimages with her speed alone, it was just that her sensei was in a league of his own…

"Stay still Dattebanya! Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Two clones with an identical appearance appeared next to her and the three of them jumped at their sensei from both the front and his sides!

Her sensei disappeared from sight as she tried to connect the strikes, she stood there with a grin on her face. Suddenly her tail stood up straight, she turned around to hit the open air and her claw got caught with a hand "Oh? You found me?"

"I felt you coming sensei!" her claw was still being held and she grinned "Raiton: Electric current!" "Paw paw paw!" the other two clones kept slashing at him as he nimbly tried to dodge but the slashes were getting closer each time!

He tried letting go but Naruko dug her claws into his skin and swiped her other one at his chest 'Buddha's protection" a bubble of chakra shot out from his body and Naruko was forced to let go and retreat!

"No fair sensei!"

The baldy looked at his bleeding hand and smiled but said nothing, instead he initiated the assault "Asura's wrath: Hundred fists"

A hundred glowing black hands appeared around him and Naruko was forced to defend from all the incoming strikes "Paw paw paw paw Welcoming Approach: Thirty Paws!" her ninety claws cancelled the incoming fists and I could only look in amazement at the way my pet was able to block each and every attack coming her way!

The final one hundredth fist was blocked and she had two more left! "Paw!" but Chiriku hadn't counted… a sudden kick in between his legs and he slumped to his knees with hands holding his jewels, tears streamed from his face and he could only weakly whimper "You…you said paw…"

Naruko grinned "Deception DattebaNya!" after which she jumped up and down screaming that she won, a well-deserved victory if I might say so myself!

Tou was on the ground laughing "She got you good baldy ghahahaha" and I have to admit that I had to supress a laugh as well, okay I may have failed that lightly… a lot…

Chiriku slowly got up and you could still see his knees slightly facing towards each other indicating that he was NOT fine by any means, the pitch in his voice higher than usual as well… "You did well Naruko-san…but that last move was not honorable!"

She tilted her head "But… you said Ninja don't fight fair?"

"She used your own words against you ghaha you got owned by a little girl! How does that feel baldy?!"

"I'm not bald! I just have very little hair! Naruko-san, how were you able to find me like you did?"

She twirled her tail and held it up to him "This! Isn't it cool, I can sense stuff with it now!"

"So your tail is sensitive to chakra?"

"I dunno? This started yesterday. It's pretty neat DattebaNya!"

"Then let's find out the extent of your sensing abilities, Tou you can assist us. Let's play hide and seek."

Is he serious, he wants to play a kid's game? …I'm in! "Miauw miauw!"

"You want to join in the game Tora-chan?" she held out her paws again and I ran up to strike the right one "Yes? Okay let's play Chiriku-sensei!"

"We are going to use the entire palace, your task is to find us and all your other sensei before afternoon."

"Okay!" my pet was grinning and appeared really pumped for the game of hide and seek, she always liked playing games and of course I always complied because I'm so generous, not because I secretly enjoyed them though, not at all…

"Close your eyes for one minute"

"Haaai 1…2…3…"

I ran away at top speed and climbed up the wall, he said the whole palace so why not on top of it? I hid in the shade of a tower and took a little nap.

Some nice dreams about fish, tricking pathetic dogs and divine ramen later and I was rudely awoken for some reason!

"Found you Tora-chan!"

Oh yeah, hide and seek "Miauw?"

"About an hour, you were sneaky Tora-chan! I already got Tou-sensei and Asuma-sensei, you want to come with me for the rest?"

Duh? "Miauw"

I jumped up her head and settled down for the ride, wonder how long she still has?

"Miauw?"

"A little less than two hours. Let's goooo!"

We ran off and I saw her tail moving left and right before it suddenly stopped and stood up straight "Over there!" we turned left and stopped at our room? "Miauw?"

"Someone's in here" she opened the door and we went inside, I sniffed the air and indeed noticed a familiar scent, but where?

"Got you DattebaNya!" she looked under the bed and the usually very serious Seito came from underneath "Seito-sensei?"

"You got me Naruko-san well done! I heard you were playing a game of hide and seek and decided to join in!"

"Miauw!"

"You're right Tora-chan, there's someone else here as well!"

We opened the closet and saw nothing even behind all the clothes, under the blanket… still nothing… nothing, nothing… only one place left?

"In the nightstand? But that's so small!"

I jumped from her head and opened the little door, and there he was… my victim "Naruko-chan I'm stuck! Help me out!"

Slowly preparing my claws I grinned at one of her sensei "Tora-chan, what are you doing?! No, don't!"

Too late! Revenge is sweet! I clawed his face as he was totally stuck and the sweet sounds of his screaming was like fish to my tongue, how dare he step on my perfect tail and mess up my hairs three and a half months ago!

"Sorry Nauma-sensei but Tora-chan seems to want some payback"

"For what?!"

"You don't remember? You stepped on her tail, do you have any idea how much that hurts DattebaNya?! Tora-chan, sick 'm!"

Gladly! I continued my revenge and soon his whole face was a mess as he struggled to get out of the tiny space, baldy opened the door in panic from all the screaming.

"Found you Chiriku-sensei!"

"…I thought something serious was going on but it's only Nauma… This doesn't count Naruko-san."

She pouted and stomped her foot "It does! It's not my fault you were hiding in the boy's locker room, I'm not going in there!"

"…You knew?"

"Of course I did! You smell like head polish, how can I miss that smell!"

"…"

Ooh so that's the unusual smell I get from him, he always smelled waxy. Wait we can't stay here, they're stalling! "Miauw, Miauw!"

"You're right Tora-chan, they're stalling!"

"I will never get how you can tell what Tora is saying… but you are correct, you have one hour left."

"You're all mean! Tora-chan jump on my head, we're going!"

I jumped on her head but totally not because she told me to and we went to finish our massive undertaking! Only fifty minutes later and with plenty of time to spare we finished and stood before the baldy again.

"Good job Naruko-san"

Ahum? "Miauw!"

"…Good job you two" Better! "We've found out that you're a natural tracker next to a Taijutsu prodigy and will adjust our future training on that. But for today your training with me is over."

"Haaai! …Cookie?" she sweetly blinked her eyes at him with her hands behind her back and the baldy sighed…

he threw two fish cookies at us, Naruko jumped in the air as she caught hers and purred on the ground in satisfaction. This was the usual reward for a job well done and Naruko always acted like that so we've gotten used to it, what's problematic is when she sees those in the real life, one moment she can be underneath you and the next you fall to the ground!

Just one more year of peace and quiet left before I would be stuck around snot nosed brats that can't appreciate our beauty and I would make the most out of it!

* * *

 **I would like your opinion on the Nine powers and which ones I should maybe put into the future story. I've already heard about the Kitty-kopter from Ashquinox and put that on the list!**

 **The powers so far are:**

 **Static fur – plushy cat with fur that becomes charged with lightning.**

 **Hairball – like the name says, shooting hairballs at the enemy.**

 **Black cat – make your enemies unlucky, for instance they suddenly trip or a tree falls on their head.**

 **Catnip Paw – Variation on Drunken Fist, the power is catnip and the user develops the catnip paw in which he/she's tripping like mad.**

 **Kitty-kopter – flying with the tail for short durations, using it to produce wind Jutsu and moving unpredictably.**

 **Sleepy Kitty – makes the enemies fall asleep or get drowsy, used in combination with a monotone voice and ungodly rapping.**

 **Litterbox – basically moving sand from Gaara but maybe with a small twist, this one is already in the future story because Gaara is awesome.**

 **Lucky Cat – also already in the story as Naruko has it.**

 **Roasting Fish – Blue fire that also smells like fish, either nice fish or decaying fish.**

 **They all get a catlike appearance, some more than others. You can also help with who will have which power! I hope you have more suggestions, don't make them super overpowered though, that's not fun. Naruko is going to be strong but in no way overpowered.**

 **For those who don't understand the two paws left, Naruko has two clones so ninety paw strikes and they used four paw hits before that so that's twelve. So a total of a hundred and two.**

 **I hope you liked it! And thanks so much for the reviews and follows and favourites!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. What I do want to own however is a cat, and some brownies… I hope you like the chapter, it has some action, training and something that you could've guessed. Yet again thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites, I didn't think so many would like the story!**

* * *

"Naruko-san, we only have two months of training left before you start the academy year, we will still be training during your period of schooling but in a far less quantity."

"Only two more months DattebaNya! Not that I don't like your training sensei… I just…"

Baldy nodded his head "I understand, you want to meet others your age."

Only two more months until I was going to the bratty school with my pet human and I didn't look forward to it but for Naruko I would do almost anything. We've had a few breaks here and there in which we mostly played games like catch, hide and seek and my personal favourite…Torture the thieving sensei!

"Now let's see how your new Jutsu are going, first up is the Buddha's Protection."

I looked on as Naruko summoned a small layer of blue and red chakra around her body, this was the so-called Buddha's Protection and it was quite pretty, the contrasting colours it produced did catch your attention and I even tried learning it myself to become even more magnificent.

"Now hold it up while I attack you, we're going to test how many of my fists it can block."

Naruko nervously stood there as there was no way of knowing when it would stop protecting her and only weakly nodded "One fist, two fists..." the baldy kept hitting my poor pet until her protection finally broke…

"Twenty-seven fists." It shattered and Naruko slumped to the ground panting, I went up to her and tried to comfort her by some licks here and there. "Thank you Tora-chan…"

"Decent work Naruko-san I didn't expect it to hold on for that long but there is still much room for improvement. Next up is the Camouflage Technique."

"..H…Hai sensei…" it worried me a little that her sensei required her to commit to the training so much that she wasn't even allowed to take a breather… I cared for my favourite human and seeing her get hurt also hurt me. And there's nothing worse than me getting hurt!

Naruko slowly started blending in with her surroundings but it was nowhere near perfect especially for my cat eyes. When standing still she might not be really stealthy but it did help during hide and seek and even in the spars with her sensei.

My Naruko put on the technique and together with her extremely fast speed, even for my standards, she just disappears from sight enough to strike! She's becoming more like a true cat, she uses her trickery to her advantage and is so agile and quick that it makes me proud!

My favourite human has come so far in the years I've known her, it's just… just great… *snif* no I'm not crying or being sentimental, don't even talk about that!

"Also decent, you've improved tremendously Naruko-san. Especially considering that this is an A-rank technique, you will be using these two Jutsu during your entire career."

"Sensei… do you think I'm ready for the academy? Am I… am I strong enough?" How can she even ask that?! She's far stronger than any of the brats that tried catching me during all those years, come on pet you have to be less insecure!

"Do you want my professional opinion or my personal one?"

"…Both?" she began poking her fingers at each other in nervousness and I jumped up on her head to calm her down. "Tora-chan?"

"Miauw"

"I don't have to worry?"

"Miauw!"

"Really? Thank you Tora-chan."

Baldy just looked at us with an arched eyebrow and had no idea what I said to my pet…

"I'm going to ignore that, but yes Naruko-san you are more than ready. Your Taijutsu is at a very high level and so are the Ninjutsu you use to augment your strength. Tracking and stealth are by far your best trained skills and that's proven in the games of hide and seek, even your sensei have to become serious in hiding themselves or else we stand no chance."

"So just like Tora-san apparently said, don't worry. You've done all of us proud" a rare smile appeared on the baldy's face, Naruko ran up and gave him a hug "Thank you sensei!"

Just this once baldy, the next time you hug her I will give you the paw of righteous justice for touching my property!

"Your next training is with Tou and Seiko, you have one hour to rest until they arrive."

"Thank you sensei!"

He threw the well-deserved reward as he left and Naruko was once again sitting on the ground in bliss, I admit the cookies are decent but still not worthy of my sophisticated pallet on every occasion.

Baldy nodded "Till next time" and walked away. Damn we're going to have the menace next, I thought we had at least three more days before we would see her again! Although she did make Naruko-chan great in dodging attacks… most of the training with her just consisted of dodging as she wanted to pet Naruko's tail!

I walked up to my pet and sat on her lap for the one hour of rest and purred in satisfaction as she stroked my fur. If only we could just stay like this forever…

"Tora-chan are you excited for school?" her pleading eyes wanted just one answer from me.

"Miauw…"

"You're not?" her head slumped down in sadness and I licked it from her lap "Miauw Miauw"

"You don't like others touching me, you don't want to get annoyed by other kids?"

Damn right, "Miauw!"

"Don't worry Tora-chan I won't let them. You're still number one in my heart and will always be my bestest friend!"

I know I know, you will never leave the magnificent me, why would you? But I appreciate the sentiment my pet. A few more licks and our quiet relaxing moment was brutally interrupted as Naruko flashed away from underneath me!

"Naruko-chan!"

I saw the menace barely a few centimetres away from me and instantly knew why she disappeared "I'm sorry Tora-chan but it was either this or her getting my tail…"

"Miauw" Don't worry my pet you made the right choice!

"Tail! Get back here Naruko-chan!" The menace kept running and flashing towards my Naruko but failed to touch her or her tail each and every time!

"Tou get here, now!"

"Seiko-san!" the menace finally left us alone and stood next to the extremely serious Seiko as if nothing happened, the bitch, how dare she act so innocent!

Seiko was one of the more decent sensei my pet had, sure he was serious but he also had his acceptable points, one, he never tried touching Naruko just like the baldy, two he liked games.

And the most important point, he kept the menace in check! She listened to his every command and whenever he was near she would never try anything!

"Good afternoon Naruko-san and Tora-san. It's time for your next training, we've got a special one ready for you this time."

Naruko's eyes sparkled "Special?! Tell me DattebaNya!"

"We're going to train you together in two of our personal Jutsu, the Paralysis palm and Flying Swallow. The first makes every hit slightly paralyse your opponent and the second lets you extend the range of your claws."

Huh, but she already does that? "Miauw?"

"Tora-chan's right, don't I already extend my range?" she tilted her head like she always does in confusion even if she doesn't realise that it makes her extremely cute…

"Naruko-chan you're so cute!" she's true on that point but I still hate her.

"Tou don't you dare! Stay here!"

"Hai Seiko… spoilsport…" Why can't we bring him with us everywhere we go, that would save so much trouble! Maybe...

"As for your question. Although you extend your range with the help of the Cat's chakra this is still not true extension. The technique we are going to teach you will make your claws even sharper, longer and you may even be able to stay connected to the claws you shoot out."

"I can?!" Sparkle sparkle she's becoming excited yet again.

A nod came as a response and she cheered while jumping up and down "So cool DattebaNya!"

"It's indeed a strong technique, especially combined with the Paralysis Palm if you manage to eventually fuse them. We've never been able to do so but maybe you will succeed in the future."

I'm sure Naruko will, she's awesome just like me so there's nothing we can't do!

"Now then Naruko-san, are you ready?"

"Hn!" she excitedly nodded

"Then first up is the Paralysis palm, in theory this is a very simply technique, but to use it successful in combat is an entirely different thing. You infuse your hands with a small amount of lightning chakra and continuously keep it there, the moment you touch somebody that electricity will pass over to them and that's it."

"But! The difficult part is keeping that lightning chakra on your hands, lightning is not an easy element and will often harm its caster as much as its target. So you will have to build up a resistance to your own lightning."

"This will hurt and can be considered an arduous task but we have the utmost confidence that you will be able to so."

"I will DattebaNya!" she pumped her fist in the air and I did the same with my paw, this was going to be great! Now we can paralyse the menace and take our revenge!

We, or rather my pet, trained for the next couple of hours in this remarkably useful technique as I watched her and payed close attention, she made steady progress and after a while the training switched to the next Jutsu.

I didn't really care about this one as it sounded a bit more boring but I graciously gave them my attention nonetheless.

"The next technique is the Flying Swallow, for this technique you infuse your claw with either wind or lightning chakra and imagine it growing longer, I will show you."

The serious sensei took out a small knife and it began to glow yellow, we could see the chakra form an even larger knife around it and he sliced a nearby rock with it. The rock got sliced clean through, this was a useful cat technique! Our claws are our primary weapon, having longer and sharper claws is always great!

"Lightning chakra makes the knife sharper but also electrocutes the opponent, wind however makes it so sharp that it will be able to cut almost anything."

Her hand shot up for a question "Can't I just use both then?! Then it does both!"

"Sadly you can't, lighting and wind chakra cancel each other out, you may have a different effect with the cat's chakra but that is for you to determine."

The rest of the day was a bit boring, I once again watched Naruko train and fell asleep half way through until she woke me up "Tora-chan, it's dinnertime!"

Oeh now that's something worth waking up for! "Miauw!" let's go!

She picked me up and held me to her chest as we rushed off to our feast, this process of training, eating and sleeping continued for the last two months and at the end of it I mostly just slept… I'm not ashamed to admit it, I'm still able to enjoy my peace and quiet now but that would stop soon…

* * *

( 7 days until school )

"Tora-chan only seven more days! I'm almost going to school DattebaNya!"

I know, you've been telling me every damn day the entire past month! "Miauw!"

"Hehe sorry Tora-chan, I'm just a bit excited, I wonder if I'll make friends… do you think the other kids are nice?"

No they're not, they're all damn brats that don't know when to shut up! "Miauw…"

"You think they will be?! I hope so too!"

No need to spoil her excitement though.

* * *

( 6 days until school )

"Six more days DattebaNya!" I chased my pet as she ran through the corridors with so much energy that it tired me out! How can somebody have this much energy!

* * *

( 5 days until school )

* * *

I'm freaking out over here this is just mental! Where is her off button?!

( 1 day until school…)

* * *

SHUT UP! I'M DYING OVER HERE, STOP WITH YOUR SHOUTING AND RUNNING AND SIT THE KAMI DOWN! "MIAUW!"

"But Tora-chan only one more day!"

I KNOW! YOU'VE SAID THAT 203 TIMES ALREADY AND IT'S ONLY MORNING!

"Naruko-chan calm down, I know you're excited but you have to keep that energy for school, can't have you falling asleep there and missing a chance to meet friends now can we?"

Good move fatty that will make her stop!

"I'm sorry Kaa-san…" she calmed down a bit and sat down for lunch.

"Don't worry dear it's fine, but I will miss having you around all day long, it's going to be quiet around here. And you're taking Tora-chan with you… Naruko-chan, I'm going to be so lonely!"

"Don't worry Kaa-san I'm sure Tora-chan will let you hug her when we return!"

"She will?!" I will?! Hold up I never agreed to this!

"Hn! I think I know why she doesn't like you hugging her!"

"Why?! Tell me! I want to be able to hug my Tora-chan again!"

"Tora-chan, paws out." Okay? She put her palms in front of her and I did as she 'asked' and put my paws in front of hers…

"Do you dislike Kaa-san?"

…No, I don't, I did… but over the years I've sadly grown to like her a bit, she treats us well especially my pet so no, I don't dislike her. I put my paw on Naruko's left palm.

"She says no Kaa-san, she doesn't dislike you"

"Then why doesn't she let me hug her…" the fatty was beginning to sob and I couldn't stand the sight of her doing that… but I would see where Naruko-chan was going with this.

"Do you dislike her hugs?" I slammed my paw on her right palm so many times that it began hurting! I utterly despise her bone crunching hugs!

The fatty began crying "Wait up Kaa-san I'm almost done, trust me!"

"Do you hate them because they're bone crunching?"

Again I slammed my paw on her right palm!

"Would you mind her hugging you if she did it gently like I do?"

…Maybe…I could possibly accept her doing so in return for her actions… I could try? She does deserve it to hug the magnificent me, and she appreciates my beauty…

I reluctantly put my paw on Naruko's left one and she beamed "You will let her hug you if she does it gently?"

I moved my paw from the left to her right…

"Kaa-san! She will let you hug her, but only if you do it gently… she doesn't like how you usually hug her. So, can you try doing that?"

The fatty crouched down in front of me on the wet grass, something she would never do in a million years and slowly started holding out her arms. I sighed one last time and walked up to her and let her hug me and surprisingly… it was decent…

"Tora-chan! You…you're letting me hug you!"

I know I'm great, you're welcome.

"See Kaa-san, she doesn't mind, just do it gently."

"Thank you Naruko-chan! I can finally hug my Tora-chan again after all those years! Tora-chan I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you!"

Apology half accepted, need more fish in order for me to really accept it.

"Miauw"

"She…she said she wants you to buy the Tora-special to show you mean it…"

Good work my pet, you know what I said!"

"Guards!" two men ran up to us from a doorway and went on their knees "Madam!"

"Get the Ichiraku's Tora-special for my Tora-chan! And also the Naruko-special, wait… get ten each!"

"Hai Madam!" they rushed towards Konoha and the fatty smiled "Is that enough?"

"Miauw" it's a beginning…

"Tora-chan says yes!"

No I didn't you liar…

"Miauw!"

"She also wants some fishcookies…" I could only watch my pet use her cutesy eyes on fatty and had no way of stopping her!

You win this one my pet… but this isn't over yet!

* * *

( Day of doom… 0 days until school starts oh help me kami… )

There I was sleeping nice and quiet on some warm blankets and having the most wonderful and brat free dreams when suddenly terror struck…

"WAKE UP TORA-CHAN IT'S SCHOOL DAY!"

I…hate…mornings… everybody that's a morning person, could you just, you know, not?

The rude awakening shot me a full metre in the air and I honestly thought we were under attack, and I wasn't wrong in a matter of speaking. I did something that I rarely did to my human, I showed displeasure and hissed!

"Sorry Tora-chan… it's just that… it's school day and I was kind of excited to make some friends…"

Oh great now I'm the badguy, she was the one that brutally woke me up! Nope, no pity for her, have pity for me, I'm the victim here!

Trying to snooze for another five minutes I just ignored the morning person only for her to grab me and start hugging me… hard choice though, sleeping or hugs from my human. Oh wait it isn't, sleep!

Let me go! "Miauw!"

"But we have to go! I've let you sleep for the whole morning until we had to go… and it's breakfast time, do you want to skip breakfast?"

…no…aaaarggghh fine! I got up and gave one final 'Don't you dare do this to me again' look at Naruko. We went to get our dinner and saw the Daimyo and his fatty already sitting at the table with a very large assortment of choice, sweet!

"Good morning you two, hope you had a nice sleep."

"I did! Only one more hour and school starts, I'm sooooo excited DattebaNya!"

Ignore them Tora… just ignore them and get some fish for breakfast, no need to keep yourself busy with the morning horror. Some fish later and I sat on top of my comfy chair waiting for the most horrible day in my life to begin, okay second most horrible day but it's close!

"Naruko-chan I think you should be going now, it's a fifteen minutes to half an hour run for you two and you don't want to be late."

"Okay! Tora-chan are you ready?"

"…Miauw…" let's get this over with, the sooner we get there the sooner we can leave, I hope…

"I'm going to have Asuma escort you towards Konoha and he will wait there until your day is done. He has business in Konoha so don't worry about him getting bored. And don't forget your lunch!"

Lunch?! At least that part is decent, let's see some dried fish, cookies, some more fish and a note at which time our ramen will be delivered?

"We're getting Ramen?" nice timing my pet!

"You sure are, can't let my two favourites starve! Teuchi-san agreed to deliver a bowl of ramen to each of you during the lunchbreak, now off you go or else you're late!"

Naruko gave her parents one final hug and held me to her chest. "Are you two ready to go?"

"Hai Asuma-sensei!"

We sped off to Konoha in such speed that even I became slightly uncomfortable "Oh sorry Tora-chan I forgot!" a second later and I stopped feeling the wind and Naruko held me closer to her, the wonders of a simple wind barrier!

Only about twenty minutes later and we arrived at the gates of Konoha "Here we are, will the two of you make it towards the academy by yourselves?"

"Hai! Thanks for taking us here!"

"No problem Naruko-chan, have fun today and make plenty of friends. Tora-chan, good luck…" I held up my paw to him as a sign of thanks. I was going to need it…

The smoky sensei flashed away and we were left with each other, just how I like it. "You ready Tora-chan?"

No "Miauw"

"It'll be fun, you'll see!" no it wasn't. We went our way and soon arrived at the academy where a bunch of grouped up brats were already waiting outside.

We went inside and ignored them for now and I hope forever in search of our classroom. "Miauw?"

"Classroom Eight, it should be around here?"

Naruko walked up to a man with brown hair kept in a high ponytail, she blushed a little and shyly asked "Sir, can you help us?"

He turned around and I saw the most ordinary face except for a large scar running horizontally in the middle of it. "Of course I can! Wait, are you the new student we're expecting?"

"I am?"

The man went on one knee and held his right hand in the left palm "I welcome you Naruko-sama, welcome to Konoha Acamemy. I'm your new teacher Umino Iruka."

Naruko became really flustered and held her hands in front of her "No no don't do that! I'm just a student… please don't treat me like someone special…"

But why? At least this man knows his place, why stop him from showing us the respect we deserve? Naruko I still have to teach you many things…

Ponytail got up and smiled "I'm sorry for making you nervous, I was told to give the proper respect to the Daimyo's daughter. But don't worry, the other kids don't know of your status and as per your request I won't treat you like a special case."

"…Thank you!" she smiled back and I just watched the two interact while not being properly introduced "Miauw…"

"Tora-chan! I'm sorry, Sensei this is Tora-chan, Tora-chan this is sensei."

Ponytail looked at me in horror and let out a soft whisper "The Genin Destroyer…!"

He knows who I am! At least my reputation wasn't forgotten after only a few years, maybe there is hope for ponytail still.

Naruko tilted her head "Sensei? What do you mean?"

I glared at him and he coughed "Nothing Naruko-san I made a mistake, it's nice to meet you Tora-san. Shall I accompany the two of you to my classroom? Class starts in five to ten minutes."

"Please!"

We went into the classroom and found it near empty except for one kid that was sleeping at a desk in the far back. Sleeping in a classroom, I think I like this kid already.

"Miauw"

"You want me to sit next to him Tora-chan?"

"Miauw"

"Sensei, can I sit next to him?"

"I don't see why not, that's Shikamaru Nara the smartest kid in the class but also the laziest, don't mind his sleeping, it's what the Nara do."

Naruko didn't need to hear any more and ran up the staired classroom towards the open spot next to him "Hi! I'm Naruko!"

"…Troublesome"

"That's a funny name"

"Shikamaru" the kid only gave the shortest possible answers and I think, actually I'm quite certain that he's also not a morning person.

"Nice to meet you! Can I sit down?"

He gave her one look and went back to sleep, we took this as a yes and sat down. Naruko on the seat and me in front of her on top of the desk. "Miauw"

"Okay Tora-chan, have a nice nap."

The sleepiness around the boy was infectious and soon I found myself snoozing and my pet was not far behind me as the minutes went by. It seems she didn't sleep as well as she had told us, my guess is that she hardly slept at all due to the excitement and the lack of sleep just now caught up as she sat down.

I woke up as I heard somebody sitting down next to us and gave the brat a glance, she seemed familiar somehow but I couldn't put my paw on it… dark blue hair that's cut real short except for two bangs in the front, white eyes without a pupil that just seem weird and red cheeks, what an odd combination.

The girl/brat rummaged in her bag and put a small paper one in front of her, a most alluring smell was coming out of the bag and I couldn't help but sniff and noticed Naruko doing the same in her sleep.

She took something out of the bag as I looked on in expectation and the next second… CHOMP!

"M…My hand!"

Now I know where I knew her from! It's the sorry excuse of a girl that tried to steal my Naruko with fish cookies!

My pet woke up from her slumber and sleepily opened her eyes "Cwookie?", Naruko just nibbled on the hand in bliss and the sorry excuse of a girl struggled yet again to remove her hand.

"Miauw"

"Hmm?" the rest was just mumbling as I had no idea what she was saying.

"C..can…can you please…let go?"

Naruko noticed the hand stuck in her mouth and removed it as if there was nothing peculiar about having one in her mouth! "Hi! I'm Naruko and this is Tora-chan!"

"H..Hinata…" the girl began poking her fingers together and blushed, it almost resembled someone cute but I knew better! I knew this brat was anything but!

Naruko grabbed her hand "Nice to meet you DattebaNya!"

"Can I…pet the kitty?"

NO! No you can not!

"Tora-chan, can she?! Pleeeaaaseee?"

"Miauw!"

"She says only if you become my friend!" Again you're lying! Don't you dare!

"Sure!" the brat tried to pet me and I began hissing "She..does..doesn't want me to…" a gloomy expression replaced the brat's previously joyous one and I was victorious!

Except for the killing intent I felt from close by, it almost seemed as if… as if…. Oh crap I'm in trouble! I tried to run but Naruko caught me in a murderous hug of doom "Tora-chan, you WILL let her pet you. Okay?" the sickly sweet venom in her voice was all too clear…

Fine! But just this once! Reluctantly I got out of the hug and went up to the brat for my doom…

Come on Tora you can do this, just a few strokes and she's done, you can do this! Her hand is coming closer… breathe Tora, relax…...the hand touched my precious fur and oh my sweet kami of cats this is amazing!

This new second favourite human has the hand of god! I purred in delight and almost formed a puddle from the glorious petting…I could get used to this school thing…

The bell rang and I glared at the girl, if she even dared stop petting me I swear to kami! "Miauw!"

"She doesn't want you to stop… sorry Hinata-chan but you don't really have a choice!" Naruko was just grinning and beamed at having made a new friend, I found her choice in friends acceptable so far.

"Hinata, Naruko pay attention! Class has begun!" I instantly turned my head towards ponytail and gave him the most murderous glare I have ever given anybody!

"…On second thought…continue Hinata…" damn right she's not stopping!

"Now then class we have a new student! Naruko can you come forward and introduce yourself?"

"Haaaaiii!" she excitedly jumped out of her seat and ran up to the front of the class while I was not going to leave this spot any time soon.

"I'm Naruko, nice to meet you!"

Murmurs began and ponytail cleared his throat "Can you tell us a few things about yourself, such as likes and dislikes?"

"Sure! I like Tora-chan who you can see over there! I also like my family, training, games, fish, eating fish, fish ramen, fish cookies, fish cakes, fish on a stick, sushi, fish stew…."

The class looked at her in utter silence as she kept naming things with fish until ponytail stopped her, how dare he, fish is life!

"Okay Naruko we understand you like fish… now as for dislikes?"

"Oh… but I still had a few left to name… my dislikes are being bored and hungry."

A whisper was heard in the far left of the room and it gave both me and Naruko a tick mark when we heard it! "…and putting your fat cat on a diet…"

"You! How dare you call Tora-chan fat!" my pet righteously stormed to the brat that dared insult the great and glorious me! Fat, how dare he!

"She's great, beautiful and perfect and you're just a dogbreath piece of trash!" I've never felt that much killing intent coming from her! It washed over us and half of the room had cold sweat running down their face and back but nobody dared to even move!

SLAM! The brat's head went straight through the desk "Don't you dare insult her ever again! Do you understand dogbreath?!"

"…Naruko I think he's unconscious…" already?! But she'd just gotten started! This isn't over yet dogbreath not by a long shot!

"Sorry sensei… but he did something unforgiveable!"

"No it's fine, just get back to your seat. Shino can you get a nurse for Kiba?"

A kid with dark glasses nodded and went out of the classroom, I happily smirked at Naruko as she sat back next to me, my second favourite human had stopped petting when the killing intent washed over her though…

"Miauw…"

"Hinata can you continue petting Tora-chan? She seems to like it"

"S..sure…" That's better! Let's see what other fun this not so disastrous school thing has to bring us.

* * *

 **There it is, the first part of the first school day! But it isn't over yet, I more planned for the first day but that'll have to wait for the next chapter. I hope I didn't make any big mistakes with spelling etc. I checked the chapter a few times but every time I check I seem to find another typo, at some point I just have to let it go and accept there could be a few in there… Anybody got some advice on things they would like to happen during the school days? The next chapters are school chapters, I'm not planning to go straight to the final exam as that would be a bit boring.**

 **Which people should she make friends with? And sorry but Sasuke and Sakura are a no-go, I hate them hehe. Please review and give me your honest opinion and advice on what I could or should change in my style, I'm still a really unexperienced writer so yeah, that'll help.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to.**

 **First of all I would like to apologize for the amount of time it took to update, I just started with my final internship since two weeks and didn't expect it to take up so much of my time and energy. I hope to release one chapter each week for the next 8 weeks. After that I should have more free time to once again release more often.**

 **Due to my lack of energy I had trouble writing this chapter so I hope you still like it. If you find any mistakes please say so and I'll change them.**

* * *

"Naruko wake up!" Wait wha, who dares wake me up!

"S…sensei? I was having a nice dream…"

"That's the point! You shouldn't be dreaming in the classroom!"

…is ponytail serious? Then why is he so extremely boring? Who's able to pay attention three hours straight?!

"…Troublesome"

Sleepy is talking? Now that's rare, don't mess up my good impression of you!

"Sensei why does Shikamaru get to sleep and I can't? I know all the things you're talking about already…"

Ponytail apparently grew annoyed, don't like having your authority questioned right huh?

"Because, Naruko, he's a Nara and it's genetic, I can't stop him from sleeping. But as for you, you have no excuse."

"So troublesome, Sensei…" wait stop, don't continue talking! You're supposed to be quiet! "If I'm allowed to sleep because I'm a Nara, then Naruko has all the more reason. She's a catgirl, tell me, what do cats do most of their time?"

Sleeping of course, wait… sleepy is making sure we're allowed to sleep, damn I love this brat!

"…They sleep" cat got your tongue ponytail?

"Precisely, so sleeping is in her genetics as well." He just stopped talking and went back to sleep after the explanation, third favourite human ever…

"…As I was saying class, chakra is…."

I just grinned at Naruko and saw her grin back "Can he pet you?"

"Miauw" sure, but he's too lazy so he wouldn't want to, bonus points in my book.

"You think we're going to learn anything useful from school? So far it seems… boring and easy"

Nooo way really?! Are you serious, I thought it was hard?! Of course we aren't, we've had like twelve Jonin teaching us personally each day! "…Miauw"

"Thought so, sleep tight"

As long as she keeps sitting next to my second favourite human then I'm fine with this year, if only they end up on the same team!

Only a few seconds of perfect dreams later and we were once again rudely awoken by ponytail…

"Class we're going outside for physical education!"

"Finally DattebaNya!"

Naruko picked me up and let me daydream against her chest as we went our way outside. Oh great now all these brats were talking again!

"Now then class we're going to start with Taijutsu practice"

A random screaming pink banshee that would NOT shut up, really she'd been staring at an emo brat and had been shouting, no screaming things at him! It went like this: "SASUKE-KUN I LOVE YOU, SASUKE-KUN! SASUKE OH SHUT THE HELL UP YOU PINK BANSHEE!

No wonder that she was my new most hated human ever, maybe possibly in the entire world?

"Miauw"

"I know Tora-chan… trust me, I know…"

"LET THE NEW GIRL GO FIRST, WHY THE HELL WAS SHE ALLOWED TO ENTER THE LAST YEAR ACADEMY WHEN I HAVE TO STAY IN IT FOR SIX YEARS WHILE BEING THE TOP KUNOICHI!?"

"Sure, I'll go first, how about I go against you pinky?" Now that I would like to see!

Suddenly she shut up, amazing, I didn't think she was able to do that.

Ponytail was really a double edged sword, on one side he's horrible but on the other he's quite decent! "That sounds like a great idea. The first spar will be Sakura against Naruko!"

Oh kami I have got to see this, no time for sleeping!

A seemingly reluctant banshee walked up to her spot and took the patented academy Taijutsu style. "Miauw"

"You want me to what?"

"Miauw" butcher her…

"STOP TALKING TO THE CAT YOU CREEP! WHAT ARE YOU, SCARED?! I'LL SHOW SASUKE-KUN THAT I'M THE BEST!"

"That's it she's done DattebaNya, Tora-chan enjoy the show while it lasts"

Naruko stood right in front of her victim, yep, victim, no other way to call her. Torture target maybe?

"Are the both of you ready?" sure am!

"SASUKE-KUN LOOK AT ME!"

Naruko said nothing, although she was sharpening her claws and smirking.

"Start!"

Don't make it too quick Naruko, please don't end it too fast…

She disappeared from sight and it seemed the fun was about to begin! "YOU CAN'T USE NINJUTSU, SENSEI THIS IS UNFAIR!"

Five claw marks on her chest and blood started seeping from the wounds "I'm not using Ninjutsu, trust me, if I did then you'd be dead by now pinky"

"Bl…bl…Blood?!" she didn't… did she really just faint from that small wound?

"But… I wanted to have more fun! Cmon pinky, wake up…"

Ponytail stood there frozen at the side lines, I think he's wondering if he has a chance against Naruko? Cmon ponytail, wake up… or rather!

"Miauw!"

My pet grinned in response and kicked the pink banshee while she was on the ground, she groaned and woke up from the pain "She was unconscious! Why'd you kick her while she was on the ground?!"

"Oh she was unconscious? Sorry I thought she was just pretending, you know deception is part of the shinobi code"

"…." Good thinking pet!

"And look, I was right! She's awake DattebaNya!"

Although she is groaning from pain on the ground, it is true that she's awake. I don't see a problem here, ponytail hasn't signalled the end of the spar soooo?

Ah, he woke up from his slumber "Cough, winner Naruko… Anybody that wants to bring Sakura to the nurse?"

"…"

"Nobody? Come on at least somebody…I know she's an annoyance" understatement of the millennia.

A random boy was then assigned to bring the banshee to the nurse, poor him, he was crestfallen when he was randomly picked and I can understand why…

"Naruko, even though you did well with the spar it is not proper behaviour to harm a fellow classmate like that. This is the second time you've done that today…"

"I can't help it she's that terrible! I only used high Genin level, she should've been able to hold out for at least a minute" 10 seconds tops in my opinion.

Ponytail was again speechless, or he just ignored the issue further and went on with the class, either way was fine with me although the fun part was already over. Time for a nap then?

"Sensei, I think Tora-chan should also participate in the class" Please let this happen, please put me against dogboy!

Ponytail shivered at the thought and looked at me with fear "I don't think that's a good idea Naruko…"

"Why not?! She's really strong!"

"…Because the class doesn't really stand much of a chance…" That's true though.

"Tss as if a pathetic fat cat can beat me, everybody knows dogs are better!"

Ponytail winced and knew what was going to happen so he just made it official "Next spar is Kiba against Tora-san, Start!"

"You're serious?!"

Time to pay little brat! I channelled my chakra and cat flickered in front of him, my claws pouncing towards his crotch and I could see the fear appearing on his face as my claws inched closer!

"Tora-chan, a bit higher"

…Fine! But I was so close!

The claw opened his stomach and he began heavily bleeding as he clutched his wounds. "Winner Tora-san"

The class gasped at the sight and total silence reigned as I went back to Naruko "Miauw"

"You did awesome Tora-chan! Didn't expect anything less!"

"How is the cat that strong?!"

"Kiba go to the nurse… again… and I hope you learned your lesson about insulting Tora-san."

Ah the sweet whispers from the brats "That new girl and her cat are mental!"

Not the word I preferred but acceptable nonetheless.

"Troublesome pair…"

Why is emo staring at us? It's as if… as if he thinks he's better than us?!

"You! Fight me, now!"

"Nope"

"You will do as I say!"

"…And why would I do that?"

"Because I'm an Uchiha you peasant!"

Did he just… this brat is arrogant alright…

Ponytail held the emo back sadly "Get back Sasuke, and believe me you don't want to call her that."

"Why not?! I'm an Uchiha, everybody is below me!"

"…Your funeral Sasuke"

"THERE'S NO WAY SHE CAN BEAT SASUKE-KUN!"

Oh great another fangirl?! How many fangirls does one emo have?

The emo rushed towards Naruko with a snail's pace and arrogant smirk SLAM aaand his face met the ground.

"SASUKE-KUN! SHE CHEATED!"

"…are you serious? I can't help it that emo is weak"

"YOU CAUGHT HIM OFF-GUARD!"

"There's no such thing and if you don't even know that then just quit being a sorry excuse of a kunoichi blondie."

Such a cute girl and yet so unforgiving, isn't she perfect?

"She's right Ino, Sasuke was even in the wrong, he rushed her without my permission and therefore he will be punished."

"WHAT?!" was the reaction of a third of the class…

"YOU CAN'T PUNISH SASUKE-KUN!"

The emo got up with a bloodied face and gave my pet an angry stare "YOU BITCH, HOW DARE YOU HUMILIATE ME?!"

He's not going to try again, is he? And he is… SLAM

"Sensei, if he attacks me again I will stop holding back…"

"Don't worry about that Naruko, better yet, class is dismissed I'm bringing Sasuke to the Hokage for insubordination. Spend your time however you want and I'll see you all tomorrow"

"INSUBORDIATION?! YOU SHOULD PUNISH THE BITCH! SHE STARTED!"

A massive wave of killing intent spiked from Naruko and she glared at the pathetic excuses of Kunoichi "Call me that one more time and you'll all be visiting the hospital, .understand?"

"Let's go Tora-chan, Hinata-chan you want to come over for dinner?"

"…I'm no… not sure my f..father would like that." She held her face down in sadness, poor second favourite human!

"Don't worry about that DattebaNya!" my favourite human took my second favourite human's hand and dragged her away and I victoriously followed suit. I want her to keep petting me…

We left the academy grounds and I was glad the day had finally come to an end… smoky appeared before us with a smile "So your day is already over?"

"Maybe…" yes it was and we caused it!

"Care to tell me what happened?" he didn't really give off the air of us having a choice though

She put up a sweet smile "Sure! I beat the pink banshee in a spar and then the emo kid rushed me twice without permission even when I said no and I slammed him into the ground."

"You slammed…"

"Him into the ground, yep!"

"And now you're dragging a girl with you? Naruko-san there's a limit to everything even for you…"

"But she's cool and I want to have her over for dinner!" Same!

"And what about her parents, does she have permission?"

"…She did say something about her father maybe not agreeing with it? But that isn't a no?"

Come on Smoky say yes, you know you want to!

"I'm getting too old for this, fine… let's go.

We dragged the stuttering girl with us but she was a bit too slow, it would take hours to get home! I was about to miauw in frustration but smoky was ahead of me and put her over his shoulder.

"Sorry Hinata-san, but we have to hurry up." Not long after our run a white eyed creep stopped us in an arrogant tone as if he had at least a few sticks up his ass.

"Halt! Who dares take the Hyuga mistress in such manner and without notifying us?!"

The creep really doesn't recognize me? Or my human?! We're pretty damn famous or does he only live in his own little stick up the ass world?

"I'm Sarutobi Asuma and we're taking the mistress to the Daimyo for dinner"

I think one of his sticks fell out of his ass, he's getting pale and quiet…

"…Very well…I will notify our leader, mistress make sure not to bring shame to your clan and you will report to your father by the end of the day." Creepy disappeared and I heard the girl let a breath of relief, I think my second favourite human has some problems at home... "Miauw"

Naruko nodded "I think so too, we'll tell mother later"

* * *

( A while later )

"Kaa-san we're home!"

I heard stomping on the ground and soon the ground began shaking, we trembled in fear as it got closer and closer… then, right around the corner came the fatty. In all honesty she isn't really that fat anymore but still, nicknames are nicknames.

"Welcome home!" she ran up to us and I jumped away just in time before she gave Naruko the hug of death, poor Naruko only told her not to hug precious me like that…

"C…Ca…nt…"

Smoky stopped her as my human became purple "Milady I believe Naruko-san can't breathe at the moment, you might want to hug more gently?"

Naruko fell to the ground gasping for breath "My baby I'm sooo sorry!"

Only problem is what fatty does when she's sorry… which is giving a hug…

"Milady, you should really stop hugging her…again…"

I sighed and did the only thing possible in this situation, become the victim in order to save my precious human. I jumped up to fatty and she caught me quite graciously if I may say so myself, and I may.

"Tora-chan!" she actually took the advice previously given seriously! She didn't hug me to death, kami it actually worked!

Naruko started recovering and slowly crawled up from the ground as my second favourite human helped her, kami bless her, how can anybody ever hate that girl?!

"Naru-chan you brought a friend!" fatty seemed to have noticed and joyously went towards them "Welcome to our home, it's the first time Naru-chan brought a friend!"

"M..Milady!"

"No need for formalities, a friend of Naruko is a friend of mine, I'm Madam Shijimi"

"H…Hinata…"

"Glad to have you here Hinata-chan! Thank you for escorting them Asuma, Naruko take Hinata-chan inside to clean up, dinner is ready in an hour."

"Haaai! Come on Hinata, let's go!"

The girl started stuttering yet again but was dragged away nonetheless. I don't really feel like bathing yet because my beautiful hair takes far too long to dry, that and I'm far too tired from the exhausting day.

"Let's get some snacks meanwhile Tora-chan" Fine with me!

A little while later we went to the dining hall and I saw the Daimyo already sitting there, how come I've never made a nickname for him?!

"Miauw"

"Evening to you as well Tora-chan"

Fatty sat down beside him and they had a boring conversation about how their day was and it really did not interest me in the slightest, what did interest me was the food on the table…

Come on Naruko you've already made me wait for eight whole minutes! It's time for food!

Another excruciatingly long minute later as the fish was just pestering me that I wasn't able to start eating it yet… they showed up "Miauw"

"Sorry Tora-chan, I wanted to show Hinata our home!"

"Daimyo-sama!" once again the stuttering second favourite human kneeled, wait… she didn't stutter! That's a first…

"So, you must be Naruko's friend, it's nice to meet you Hinata-chan, don't be so formal and just sit at the table, our dinner is waiting."

"H..Hai!" ah there it is.

Dinner finally started and we ate the adequate dinner "So Naru-chan, Tora-chan, how was your first school day?"

Extremely and utterly boring! "Miauw"

"Tora-chan's right… it was a bit boring, most of the time I just slept and Hinata was petting Tora-chan I think… oh yeah I also slammed someone's face through his desk and slammed another emo kid in the ground!" she kind of got excited at the last part.

"…You what? Naruko, that's very unladylike" oh come on old man you know we're perfectly ladylike, we're the epitome of it in fact, at least I am.

"But the boy insulted Tora-chan!"

"…He what?! What's the brats name!"

Ah killing intent, fatty is seriously pissed, good!

"Don't worry Kaa-san we already took care of him, no need to execute some brat, he just can't appreciate perfection, if anything we should pity him…"

"…You…You're right, we should pity him. Be sure to teach him to appreciate beauty and if need be I will contact the Hokage to include it into the program."

Oh that would be glorious, a class about beauty, I can already imagine the brats crying! "Miauw!"

"Tora-chan said that would be great!"

"Then it's settled, if this happens even one more time then I will make sure it happens! And what about the second brat?"

"He challenged me and I refused because he's an emo arrogant brat, weak too…"

"So he deserved it, then it's fine. A lady corrects others for their inappropriate behaviour"

The second favourite human was beginning to look at me with longing eyes after she'd finished her dinner, I believe she wants to pet me again! Fine by me!

"Tora-chan, you're letting Hinata-chan pet you?! You never let others do that"

Can't respond, too amazing…

"Tora-chan really likes her petting and is sort of addicted to it"

"Is she now…Hinata-chan, could you teach me?"

"I…don't know?"

"Would you be willing to try? I would very much appreciate it."

Wait she can teach others how to pet like this?! That would be heavenly!

I kind of didn't notice the rest of what they were saying as I began dreaming about the perfect world full of people with such an amazing skill… Why has nobody made a cat petting jutsu yet?!

The rest of the evening went by and my second favourite human was sadly sent home but I didn't fear as I knew I would see her again tomorrow. Naruko was overjoyed the entire remaining evening as she jumped up and down in bliss.

"Tora-chan she's so awesome! Do you think she will come again tomorrow?!"

"Miauw" If only…

"What if I just drag her along again?" the grin on her face showed all I needed to know, she really planned to!

"Miauw!"

"Okay Tora-chan I will DattebaNya!"

* * *

( The very next day )

"Miauw!"

"Good morning Hinata-chan!"

"G..Good morning!" she hurriedly went to the desk and sat down, I got up, sat in front of her and waited for the bliss to start… but it didn't!

"Miauw?"

"What's wrong HInata-chan?"

"…" she held down her head and on her face I could see confusion and excitement but also a lot of nervousness.

"Nothing…"

"Aaaaaand? Tell me DattebaNya!"

"Tou-san…he…"

"He didn't punish you, did he?!" oh hell no he didn't! Onward to fatty to report this!

"He told me to…hang out with you…" oh kami that's not what I expected, this is amazing! And here I thought her father was trash!

"That's great Hinata-chan! Let's go to my place again!"

"..Okay!" way to go Naruko-chan!

This was perfect, our doubt about her father abusing her was totally wrong, he even told her to hang out with us, that's a great father in my opinion!

"KAA-SAN IT'S HER, SHE HURT SASUKE-KUN!"

Oh great and the day just started in a wonderful way… the banshee returns with an extra!

The pink banshee's mother stormed towards us with a menacing look "YOU! YOU BITCH OF AN ABOMINATION, HOW DARE YOU HURT THE UCHIHA AND MY DAUGHTER!" way to get your priorities straight, first the emo and then you care about your own daughter?

The comment however didn't suit either me or Naruko, it's been years since somebody dared call her that and she sure as kami wasn't going to take it gently…

A fake smile appeared on her face "What did you call me?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I CALLED YOU! ANBU, ARREST HER!"

…Anbu? The masked guys? As if they would dare do anything against us… this banshee is crazy!

"ANBU! ARREST HER!"

Nope still nothing.

"HOW DARE YOU DISOBEY MY ORDERS!"

"Miauw"

"Oh great idea Tora-chan! Let's see if this works, Anbu arrest this banshee!"

Instantly two masked guys appeared next to the banshee "Councilwoman you are hereby placed under arrest for unruly behaviour."

"WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU, THIS DEMON ABOMINATION WAS THE ONE THAT…"

She didn't finish to my enjoyment, one of the Anbu slammed her in the guts and she fell to the ground "Say one more word and the capital punishment awaits, we're bringing you to the Hokage immediately"

Apparently being the daughter of the Daimyo is of more importance than the orders of a mere councilbitch, who'd have thought?

"Kaa-san?!" wow her high pitch dropped, it's as if she's shocked!

The pink banshee just stood there in silence afterwards and I savoured the lack of sound, this day was getting better and better… first my second favourite human gets to hang out with us and now I see the banshee's mother getting arrested, amazing…

"Good morning class!"

"Good morning sensei!"

Wait, something's missing, but what? It's like the class is lacking a certain negativity…

"As you may have noticed Sasuke is missing" Aaaah that's it! "due to his insubordination he is now facing a punishment"

A loud outcry of apparent injustice began "Quiet! He disobeyed the rules and went against my orders, therefore he will be punished just as anybody else would."

"As for Sakura, either you sit down or leave but don't stand there staring in front of yourself."

…Best…day…ever…

"Troublesome…" oh no! how could I forget about the third favourite!

I walked up to him and graciously offered a petting session, he looked at me questionable and caved to his desire, the petting was decent but nowhere near my second favourite human's level. But he deserved it, for a minute at least and that was the limit.

I went back to the better spot and the day went on, it was mediocre and nothing special happened, maybe something did, wouldn't know as we were sleeping…

The bel rang, Naruko picked me up and us three went outside to head home, but instead of 3 it turned to four… and who was the fourth you might ask, the third favourite human!

"Naruko a minute of your time…" this is interesting?

"Would you be willing to come to my home for dinner sometime, my mother wants to meet you, you too Hinata." Sounds acceptable?

"Sure! Want to come with us to our home?!"

"That would be…" come on sleepy, say it, you know you want to join us!

"Troublesome…" No! Wrong word!

"So that's a yes?! Great! Let's go!" I quickly jumped on top of her head as she grabbed the two by their hand "Asuma-sensei can we go?"

Smoky appeared before us and just sighed "Fine, let's begin the journey." We were slower this time as smoky couldn't carry both the second and third favourite human, but that was fine, as long as we made it back eventually.

"We're going to the Daimyo's palace, aren't we?" good guess! I thought kids weren't supposed to know who we were.

"Yep!"

"Troublesome…" he just left it at that, not a word or question more, it's like he already knew everything?

"Kaa-san, Tou-san we're home!" we ran through the hallway and entered the throne room without a care in the world, it was one of my rooms, why would I care?

"Oh, you have guests, sorry…" You got that wrong Naruko, they should say sorry for getting in our way, still have much to learn…

About ten people were standing in front of the Daimyo and Fatty, they turned around and looked at us, some had resentment in their eyes and others just plain nothing.

"Welcome home! And you brought Hinata-chan again, and who's this, you brought a Nara! Welcome you two!" Fatty ignored the ten and ran up for a hug "Hinata-chan said she's allowed to hang out with us every day!"

"Hiashi-san, is that true?" I looked and saw a man with similar eyes to Hinata-chan's, this must be her father!

"It is Hokage-sama, I believe it would do well for Hinata to make a friend such as Naruko-san."

Hokage? Ah now I see, the guy with the massive hat is here as well!

"You're Hinata-chan's father?!" Naruko ran up to him and I followed suit "Thanks for letting her become my friend!"

"You're welcome Naruko-san, I hope you become great friends." Wow this guy was stiff, no emotion to be seen or heard whatsoever.

"Let's go play Hinata-chan, Shikamaru-kun!" I decided to stay here and see what was going on "Miauw"

"Okay Tora-chan, I'll see you later" they ran away, at least Naruko and Hinata did, sleepy was just being dragged over the ground by his arm and he didn't even complain.

"…"

Now let's see what's going on here, why are all of the people here and even the Hokage being one of them.

"As I was saying Hokage-san, your council has overstepped their bounds! Spreading the news about my daughter and what's inside of her is one thing, but threatening to destroy her school life in secret?! If it weren't for the importance of your council I would have executed all of the ones responsible!"

"Hai Daimyo-sama, but they still deserve suitable punishment and I would appreciate your judgement."

"Hiashi, Shikaku, Inoichi and Danzo you are free to go, keep your other council members in check from now on. Nara feel free to bring your son here more often, a friend of my daughter is always welcome here. The same goes for you Hiashi."

The men bowed "Thank you Daimyo-sama" and walked away slowly.

"As for the rest of you I believe some compensation for my daughter is due. As of now ten percent of your monthly income before tax deduction is going straight to my daughter. You will be banned from coming less than five hundred metres close to her and you will stay out of her life directly or indirectly henceforth. Failure to comply to this ruling is punishable by death."

That's decent, but not enough "Miauw" he looked at me and nodded.

"And you will give Tora one Akimichi fish stew plus a Tora special Ramen each day" Now that's better!

The group was sweating profusely and could only nod in fear, anger was seen in their eyes but they didn't dare show any of it. "Hai Daimyo-sama"

"Hiruzen this ruling does not count for you, your task will be changing the educational system. From my knowledge I find the system to be lacking, at the moment you can pass and become a Genin with only theoretical knowledge. That is to be changed"

The oldy with the hat smiled and nodded "Of course Daimyo-sama."

"You should also ask Danzo for his help in this, I know that you don't see eye to eye but we don't need shinobi that value their emotions more than their orders. We also don't need emotionless ones, but they have to know that an order is to be followed."

The smile faded and he frowned slightly "I shall do as you ask"

"Very well, and one last thing, the Haruno councilwoman is to be removed from your council." Oldy's smile came back… he must hate her as well.

"WHAT?!" ah she was one of them, I didn't even notice as I wasn't paying attention to the group "BUT WHAT ABOUT HER ACTIONS TOWARDS UCHIHA SASUKE?!"

"You dare question me?"

"…No… I'm sorry Daimyo-sama"

"Better, twenty percent of your income henceforth. And I'm glad you mentioned the Uchiha, I forgot about him for a moment."

Oh this was going to be great, the Daimyo rarely smirked but when he did it was glorious, most didn't know but he's also a pranker just like us and that's one of the reasons I find him… decent.

"He disobeyed the orders given and has already been punished for that, but! I do not condone with the treatment he is getting, I have no good words for his clan and their actions had been a thorn in my side. Therefore I do not accept you treating the last Uchiha as a prince! You will treat him like any other child, that means no special treatment, no lowered prices and no favouritism."

"Hiruzen, you will send him to a psychologist, I accept that his past is tragic but that does not condone his attitude towards others. He will receive help for this."

"Hai Daimyo-sama" the rest of the group could only gasp at what was said, their whole world was being turned upside down! I loved this day… really what could have been better than this?

"That is all, you are dismissed. Hiruzen, would you care to stay for dinner? I will see that your son joins us as well"

Oldy smiled "I would love to accept but I have much to arrange in Konoha, could I join some other time?"

A nod was his response and the group left, smoky appeared next to us "You didn't have to do that my lord…"

Why not? I think it was kind of nice of him? And you aren't half bad smoky, I won't turn you down.

"The rift between you and your father should be fixed Asuma, I know your opinion of him but he has changed over the years that you've been here. For my sake, please give him a chance"

"…Very well, but I won't casually accept him"

"I don't expect you to, I will just provide you with a start and the rest is between the both of you."

* * *

 **So there you have it, a new friendship and some events that will change the course of the timeline. Hinata will have quite a decent role in this story and she'll be kickass just like Naruko.**

 **I hope you liked it! Writing school chapters is hard!**


	5. Chapter 5

**I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. What I do want however is my friend's cats… they are so cute! This is a chapter mostly focused on Naruko's friend Stutter, this is important for the future story. I hope you like it, sorry for the delay… I kind of suck with deadlines… Have fun and thanks for the reviews, follows and favourites!**

* * *

As the meeting was done I went on my way to find two favourite humans, I knew where they were as I felt a link with Naruko. Soon after I arrived at one of the training grounds we often used, Baldy was standing there together with Naruko and Stutter. Damn I'm great at making up nicknames!

I heard them talking and what I heard certainly pleased me if I must say. "Naruko-san you want Hinata-san to join us in our training sessions?"

"I do DattebaNya!"

"And what is your opinion on this Hinata-san?" please say yes Stutter, it's more time with us!

"S-sure…"

Baldy sighed and relented "Then I will agree, but first you must participate in three of our sessions in order to find out if you can handle them. I will not lower the level of training to suit your needs."

"That's fine! I'm sure Hinata-chan is awesome DattebaNya!" Stutter just looked down and pressed her fingers together cutely, now that I think about it, she's really cute! Not as cute as Naruko of course but still up there definitely…

The training commenced and Stutter was struggling to keep up with the level, that was to be expected though as Naruko is at least high Chuunin level already.

"You okay Hinata-chan?"

"Yeah I-I'm f-fine…" Stuttering and gasping for breath, not a great combination…

Baldy stopped the warming up "You did decently Hinata-san, I will accept your level so far. It's time for training our techniques, these are either Ninjutsu or in your case Taijutsu."

"Naruko-san, let's show her what we mean by that so she can follow our example"

"Hn! Buddha's Protection!" the shield popped up around her and she rushed at Baldy.

The two exchanged a multitude of blows, Naruko was on the offence initially but was soon forced to switch to the defence as Baldy was a step above her in skill.

Three clones appeared next to Naruko "Buddha's Protection!" all of them now had the beautiful shield, they attacked Baldy and the fight became intense!

"Paw paw paw paw…." She still hadn't learned to stop doing this but it didn't matter, she used it to surprise the opponent. It's just that Baldy had gotten used to it and didn't pay attention to what she said, but I'm sure others would fall for it.

She began incorporating wind and lightning chakra into her attacks, the training ground was slowly but surely getting destroyed… "Welcoming Approach: Thousand-Armed Murder"

Oh damn Baldy was getting serious! Blow after blow hit Naruko and her clones and soon all of the clones were destroyed… Naruko tried to hold off against the onslaught but was getting pushed back. A final hit and she fell to the ground in exhaustion.

"I lost… but that was fun Dattebanya!"

"Indeed it was Naruko-san, and you managed to hold out against 644 of my strikes, that is a new record."

"A…amazing…" I saw Stutter's mouth wide open as she had seen the fight, to see somebody your age do something like that… I'm not surprised she felt like this.

"Naruko-chan… Wha-what is that chakra?" she timidly asked but you could see the curiosity on her face.

"Oh I forgot to tell you! I'm the host of the Nine Tailed Cat! You could see it that clearly?!"

No Naruko, no normal person could see it that clearly, you don't leak the chakra anymore. In fact, you incorporate into your body and strengthen yourself with it. But Stutter has those eyes, it's no wonder she found out this quickly, let's hope she doesn't mind...

"WHAT?!" apparently she does? She didn't even stutter and holy kami can she shout!

"You…don't mind, do you Hinata-chan?" Naruko's face fell and fear was apparent on it, the chance of losing her first and best friend to something out of her control…

"No… it's just that…"

"Don't worry Hinata-san, Naruko is in perfect control. She and the Kyuubi are in perfect harmony and the story is different than people make it out to be. The Kyuubi is not a being of evil, you can trust me on that."

Thanks Baldy, way to save the moment! You can always rely on him to reason with such things. Stutter was already starting to smile again and she even hugged Naruko!

"Don't worry N-Naruko-chan.. I'm y-your friend!"

Damn right you are!

Baldy cut in "Hinata-san, how about you show us what you're capable of? You must have trained in the Gentle Fist, show me what you can do."

She looked down "I'-I'm a f-failure…" what?! No you aren't! How can you even say that!?

"…How so Hinata-san?"

"F-Father says I…that I'm a shame to the family… I'm bad at the gentle fist…"

How dare he say that, what a terrible father!

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, you're awesome Dattebanya!"

"Let me be the judge of that, I may be able to find what you lack"

"H-Hai…"

"Attack me with all that you've got, try to destroy my Buddha's Protection"

Stutter charged him and used the Gentle Fist to attack, at first Baldy just dodged the strikes. Eventually he decided to see what effect it would have on his shield… but nobody expected what would happen!

The palm went straight through as if it wasn't even there! Baldy looked at the palm that hit him in utter shock "You…"

"I'm sorry!" Stutter retreated and bowed "I didn't mean to!"

"How did you hit him Hinata-chan? The shield should've stopped you!"

Indeed it should've…it's like the shield let her pass through, but that could only mean!

"Hinata-san don't apologize, you've done nothing wrong. In fact…I have something to ask of you." Baldy took out a small piece of paper that I could only recognize as chakra paper, I think he has the same idea as me.

"Put your chakra into this paper, there's something I have to find out."

"That…won't work.. Father made me do that once b-but…it didn't react…"

"I thought so…" I've never seen Baldy with such an expression, but if she is what I believe she is, then it's to be expected! If it really is the case then it's something I've only ever seen four times in my whole life…

"Hinata-san I am going to teach you a Jutsu, it's the same Buddha's Protection that I just used"

"You are?! But it took me months to learn that one!"

And it's a wonder you were able to do so Naruko-chan, monks spend their whole lives to learn that particular chakra type. You are only able to do so because of the Nine Tails.

"Don't worry Naruko-san, Hinata-san. I have utmost faith that you can learn this Jutsu"

"I'll try…"

"I will guide you by adding my own chakra as you perform the technique" he began explaining how to use the shield and only ten minutes later did she try to perform it for the first time, it went as expected…

Golden chakra was released from Baldy's hands and flowed around Stutter "Buddha's Protection!" the shield appeared in a bright golden glow. Baldy could only look at it in shock and had a rare smile on his face "Amazing…"

"I-I did it!" excitement lit up Stutter's face as she performed the technique on her very first try!

"She did it…she really did it dattebanya…Hinata-chan you're the best!" You have no idea Naruko, she is special, extremely special…

Baldy began to explain the root of the issue "I have something to explain to the both of you, sit down"

The two did as were told and I sat down on Naruko's lap "First I'll start with a simple question, which types of chakra are there?"

Naruko couldn't contain herself and Stutter wouldn't even try to answer with her lack of confidence "Wind, Lightning, Earth, Water and Fire!"

Baldy nodded "Indeed, those are the five most known types. But what if I were to tell you that there are in fact eight chakra types"

"Eight?!"

"Next to the five more known types there are three more, they are: Sage Chakra, Dark Chakra and finally…Light Chakra"

"Sage Chakra comes in many forms, it is basically becoming one with a type of chakra. Let's say you are extremely adapt with wind chakra, if you become one with it then you would be able to become a wind Sage. This type of chakra has a few flaws, training in it has a high mortality rate and gathering it when you've mastered it is extremely difficult."

"Dark Chakra is rare but still seen sometimes. Many don't realise that what they are seeing or using is Dark Chakra. This type of chakra is often used in jutsu that make you close to immortal as well as it having a great decaying effect. This chakra is present more often than the final chakra because the shinobi world is filled with darkness."

"The final type is Light Chakra, this one is naturally seen once in every few centuries or even less and by far the rarest type! Monks train their entire lives to be able to use this in the slightest and most fail to do so. All of our techniques use Light Chakra and one such example is Buddha's Protection"

It's just as he explained, but there is more to it than that. But that's for another time.

"Then why am I able to use your techniques?! I don't have Light Chakra!" that's where the issue lies Naruko.

"Because of the Nine Tailed Cat, tailed cats are a force of nature and therefore contain all types of chakra. As for Hinata-san"

Here it is…

"You are born with it. You are one of those that have it naturally. Hinata-san, please become my apprentice." Baldy bowed before her! This stoic man that never shows emotion is bowing before Stutter!

"I-I can't…Father would never agree…"

"I believe he will, let me speak with him. Naruko-san I will meet the two of you after school tomorrow, we will then proceed to the Hyuga estate. Hinata-san, don't speak of this to your father just yet, wait for me to tell him."

He wants us to come with them? But why?

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan's right, why do you need us sensei?"

"Because I believe it will help convince him, he wants you and Hinata-san to bond and this will help him in his goal. Let's end the training here, I will meet the two of you tomorrow after school." He walked away just like that and I could understand his reason, Baldy had much to think about, as did I.

The presence of one with Light Chakra is not to be taken lightly, even at my full power one with mastery of Light Chakra could pose a threat!

"…Troublesome"

Did we just totally forget about him being here?! I get that he's easily overseen with his sleepy attitude but still…

"Oh Shikamaru-kun, you woke up from your nap?"

"With all the ruckus you were creating it would be a miracle even for me to stay asleep…"

"You aren't going to ask about what just happened? Not even going to say something?"

"That's so troublesome… nah I'm fine with it. Can we go home now? I don't want to incur mother's wrath…"

"She's that terrifying?"

"…You have no idea" don't worry Sleepy I'm sure it'll be fine, you were with us after all!

Smoky appeared right on cue "Hinata I'll take you home, Shikamaru… I'm not going further than your gate…" that bad huh? Even Smoky is afraid of her.

* * *

( The next day )

We entered the room of boredom, went to our seats and fell asleep. It had become a routine of sorts in such a quick time, we always came a bit early to enjoy the limited peace and quiet of the mornings.

The bell rang and brats began entering the room, I forgot who most of them were as I simply had no interest in ones below my standard. Sadly there were a few that I did remember but not for their good qualities… think of the pink banshee and the prince of emo's, the latter which had sadly returned to class…

He glared at us with a scowl but didn't dare say anything as he seemed to have learned we were far above him, the same went for the banshee as she didn't screech anything in our direction. Sadly that didn't mean she didn't screech into the emo's direction, she was like a lost puppy that found its owner, he had no faults in her eyes…

"SASUKE-KUN YOU'RE BACK! I MISSED YOU SOOOO MUCH!"

Even the emo ignored her to the best of his abilities, how could she not see her faults?!

"…Troublesome"

"Miauw" you can say that again!

"Good morning Hinata-chan!" damn I missed her sitting down next to us all because of that damn banshee! "Miauw!"

"G-good morning Naruko-chan, Tora-chan!"

"Miauw" I pointed my paw to Sleepy and she seemed to have noticed he was there as well

"And Shikamaru-kun"

Naruko looked at her with pleading eyes, waiting for the morning snack to appear… yet it took a bit too long "Hinata-chan…fish cookie?"

Stutter reached into her bag and held out her hand CHOMP and made the same mistake yet again… "My hand!" it's been so many times and she still hasn't learned not to keep them on her hand! That or she secretly likes having her hand chewed, maybe Stutter isn't as innocent as she seems?

She scratched Naruko behind her ear which made her open her mouth from the excess bliss, it was one of the tactics she had learned and I have to admit it's effective. Taking a tissue from her bag she proceeded to clean her hand.

"Are you alright Hinata? You seem a bit on edge" Sleepy spoke on rare occasions but he always struck home, only now did I notice that she seemed off somehow.

"I-I'm scared for…you know…"

"Miauw" telling your father, Naruko snapped out of her bliss "Don't worry Hinata-chan it'll be alright! Tora-chan is going to be there, nothing can go wrong with her presence dattebanya!" Damn right!

In order to cheer her up I went to her desk and offered myself for a petting session, I'm such a kind-hearted cat, aren't I?

"T-Thank you Tora-chan…"

Class began and I went to sleep even though I kept feeling some gazes towards our location, I just thought they were from emo and banshee but didn't think more about it… how wrong I was…

A few sleepy hours later and we went outside for physical education which basically entailed butchering brats and enjoying their suffering.

Only now did I notice the other terrifying source of stares I felt. It was the brat from yesterday, the one who's crotch I almost cut! Why is he looking at us, does he want revenge? I'd gladly show him his position again!

But no he said nothing and I couldn't see any hatred in his eyes, what I saw was much much worse! It was affection, oh kami this brat was looking at Naruko with hearts in his eyes!

"Miauw!"

"WHAT?!" you heard me! "Miauw!"

"You've got to be kidding me Tora-chan, no way, he doesn't!" I pointed towards Dogbreath and Naruko shivered at the sight "You're right…"

The brat seems to have fallen in love with Naruko! "Miauw"

"Beating him will only make it worse! Tora-chan what do we do?!" we?! Oh kami no you're on your own! Although…

"Miauw"

"You're blackmailing me?! Ramen for crotch shots… I'll have to think about that…" do you really have an option?

"Creep" who said that?!

Naruko stormed off to the banshee "You still didn't learn your lesson pinky?!"

"You're a creep! You keep talking to your cat!" So? You keep talking to your imaginary friend…

"Sensei, match, now!"

Ponytail sadly didn't comply "I'm sorry Naruko but there's been a change of plans for today per the Hokage's orders."

The whole class quickly payed attention at the mention of the Hokage… really it's just an oldy with a weird hat, what's so special about that?

"Instead of Taijutsu training we're going to do a physical test, anybody that doesn't pass has to follow remedial lessons in order to catch up to the standard." A few brats went pale and I could only grin

"The Hokage has deemed the educational system flawed, at the moment you can pass to become a Genin with only theoretical knowledge. That however, ends now."

"BUT SENSEI! I DON'T WANT TO BECOME BULKY AND UGLY LIKE FOREHEAD!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY INO-PIG?!"

"QUIET! You have no choice in the matter! Either you perform to our standards or you repeat the year until you're strong enough!"

I was beginning to like this test already, no way that the banshee can pass! That and seeing her suffer, both are great.

"The first test is running around the track twenty times in twenty minutes!" that sounds fair?

"..But…sensei…" the banshee was suddenly a lot quieter "No but's, time starts now!"

Naruko stormed off and left all the other brats biting dust until she suddenly stopped "You coming Hinata-chan?"

"H-Hai!" Stutter ran along with her and I decided to join them on this occasion, we adjusted our pace so Stutter could keep up. After the first lap we already passed over half of the class as we watched them struggle to keep up with our pace, some already gasping for breath. Pathetic… if these are going to be Shinobi then they're going to die in the very first fight!

We continued running for ten laps and looked behind to see the emo keeping up with a smirk on his face "You're not going to beat me, I'm an elite!" he tried to gain on us to show his supposed superiority… oh how wrong he was!

"I'm sorry Hinata-chan, I'm going on ahead okay?"

"Hai!"

I was not going to join her, no way I would be able to keep up, not without getting my fur dirty!

Emo was almost passing us… Naruko suddenly went into overdrive and used her real speed! She just disappeared and lapped us not even half a minute later… Emo looked at her with rage "How dare you!" and was obviously humiliated.

Only a few minutes later she stopped "Sensei I'm done!", I went up to them and decided enough was enough. Ponytail looked at her in shock, not believing the speed at which Naruko had just ran.

"I see…"

We sat down and watched in glee as the brats were struggling. Most of them were girls obviously on ridiculous diets all in order to please their prince of emo's.

"Miauw"

"I was thinking the same Tora-chan… if only we don't end up in a team with one of them!" kami that would be horrendous! Not that the brat would survive for long, but still!

Said emo was finally done with running and continued glaring at us as if we committed murder right before his eyes. Actually, I don't think that would even matter to him, he probably takes personal insults worse than a murder appearing before his eyes.

"Hinata-chan you're done!" after a couple more minutes Stutter sat down in exhaustion, she was the fourth to arrive and couldn't even utter a word. Sleepy was done at exactly twenty minutes and didn't seem all too tired "You're not tired Shikamaru?"

"That would be troublesome… I just did what was asked, no more or less…" Typical Sleepy

Half of the class was too late, it took another fifteen minutes before everybody was done! Kami they were awful, big words but no bark!

"You all fail, starting tomorrow you will be following remedial lessons in order to catch up for this part. You have ten minutes of rest before we begin with the second test!"

"There's more?!" was the collective response of half the class, pathetic…

A short break later and we began with the second part "Next up are sit-ups and push-ups. You have to do two-hundred each, every time you take a break you will have to do ten more!"

"WHAT?!"

Not going to join in on this one "Miauw"

"No worries Tora-chan. Ready Hinata-chan?"

"Hai!"

Groans of pain could be heard right off the bat, Naruko was done in a couple of minutes and Stutter took a while longer. The rest however took almost an hour to finish… seriously half of the brats took way too many breaks and had to do up to four-hundred of each exercise!

"Because some of you took so much time we will leave it at this for today. I expect those that failed to follow the remedial lessons from now on, failure to do so means you aren't allowed to take the final exam!"

"Go home and rest, we will continue tomorrow. Dismissed" Ponytail left

We're done, that means we're going to Stutter's home, right? "Miauw"

"Hinata-chan, we're going to your place now, right?" Stutter look down and was obviously extremely nervous judging by her face.

"H-Hai…"

"Don't worry it's going to be alright Dattebanya!"

"It's just as Naruko-san says, you're going to be fine Hinata-san" Oh crap that scared the hell out of me! Don't suddenly show up behind someone!

Naruko's reaction was mostly the same except for one small thing, well the word small depends but that depends on the guy's interpretation… they would say it's at least above average…men… her fright reaction was to kick at the thing that caused it!

Baldy fell to the ground with his hands covering the now even less than average parts "..W-Why..!"

"Don't scare me Dattebanya! Who in kami shows up like that?!"

"Y-You do…" Stutter is kind of right, this is right up your alley Naruko…

"…That…That's different" No it isn't… You even use your camouflage Jutsu to maximize the scare…

"Let's be on our way, the sooner we reach the Hyuga estate the sooner we can resume your training" needless to say the pitch in his voice was a bit off though.

He's talking as if he already knows what's going to happen, interesting… Only minutes of casually running through the streets and we arrived at a massive estate with a large wall around it. I could already feel the arrogance and sense of superiority in the air, if a dog were to run into this estate it would go mental with all the sticks it could find stuck up someone's butt.

"Halt! Who are you and why are you with Hinata-sama?!" Same as the one before, they really don't seem to know anything or anyone outside of their little world.

"I am Chiriku of the Twelve Guardian Ninja serving the Daimyo. I am here to speak on his behalf on a matter regarding Hinata-san. I wish to speak with Hiashi-san."

The white eyed prick paled and quickly stepped aside "Please proceed!"

"Hinata-san, please show us where your father is." Stutter replied with a nod and we went on our way. Along the way we could see stares of contempt from the few people that walked through the estate. It seemed that this part, which was apparently for the Head family, had very few people except for the occasional servant.

We stopped at a large door which had two guards with an equally stuck up attitude "Halt!" oh come on not this again!

"Let them in"

"Hai Hiashi-sama!"

The doors opened and we saw the same familiar no emotion white eyed prick. Said prick arched a brow "Chiriku-san, what brings you here? I must say that this is unexpected."

"Hiashi-san I have something of utmost importance to tell you which is followed by a request."

"Very well, sit" he pointed his arm in front of him and we sat down "Let's get straight to business, what is it that you have to tell me"

Time to drop the bomb, if he doesn't show emotion after hearing what's about to be said then he's just a statue!

"I'm saying this knowing that you have knowledge of all of the chakra types, not just the five basic ones." You could already see the curiosity starting to form.

"Hinata-san has the Light Chakra type" There it was! The utter shock on his face, priceless!

"…How certain are you of this?"

"Absolutely certain"

"I see…" he turned towards Stutter "Hinata, I am sorry for my actions thus far" it was now time for Stutter to become absolutely shocked "F-Father?"

"I tried to train you in our art not knowing that it is absolutely incompatible with you, this is a failure on my part. Chiriku-san, thank you for notifying me of this."

"No problem Hiashi-san. You must understand the request I have then?"

He nodded "You wish to train her, only monks know how to train in light chakra. Before I agree I have to know how proficient you expect her to become."

"I will explain with how I found out. During a training session yesterday with Naruko-san I tried to test your daughter, she was to strike me when I had my Buddha's Protection up."

"She did as told…only for her palm to go straight through my protection as if it didn't exist. I tried teaching her the technique and the results were more than I could ever expect. Hinata-san, show your father the technique"

Stutter nodded "Buddha's Protection", the golden glowing shield formed around her and the white eyed prick gasped "That!"

"It's as you see Hiashi-san, it's perfect. It took her one hour to learn this, a prodigy monk will take two years to do so."

"SUMMON THE ELDERS, NOW!" sounds could be heard from around the room.

"Hinata you are hereby no longer the future clan head. However, you will not get the caged bird seal. You will become the Hyuga representative to the Daimyo and train with Chiriku-san in his art."

"One small suggestion Hiashi-san, I wish to incorporate the gentle fist with her light chakra. I will need your help with this."

"But Light Chakra shouldn't work together with our Gentle Fist, you know as well as I do that those should be incompatible"

"That is true but only if you want her to physically attack. But you know one of my techniques, imagine…" Baldy couldn't finish his sentence as white eyed prick opened his mouth in a gasp and interrupted.

"The Thousand-Armed Murder… you want to add the Gentle Fist to that!"

"I do"

"Very well! I will assist in the training of Hinata. I will go to the palace in two days' time to discuss how we will proceed, is that to your agreement?"

"It is. Can I take Hinata-san to the palace for training or do you need her here?"

"I will need her for the next hour, afterwards you are free to take her with you. You may spend the time here or in my guest area. Come Hinata, we have much to arrange with the Elders."

Stutter looked at me and Naruko "Don't worry Hinata-chan it'll be fine Dattebanya! We'll be right here for when you're done!"

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan would be willing to come with you though, if your father agrees!" as if he would dare not to!

"You can take her Hinata, we can't delay this any further. Come." I jumped from Naruko's lap and followed Stutter, this was going to be interesting!

We went through a couple of doors in utter silence before stopping at a final one "Hinata I will discuss the issue with the elders, you will not say anything unless asked. This has to be handled carefully."

* * *

 **Yep you can already tell she's going to be strong! But! There's a big but… you know Hinata, she's far too gentle, so this could get interesting. I hope you liked it, I have a few grand ideas for Naruko and her skillset, she's going to be awesome. It's going to a bit tricky to describe her fights though so that's going to be tough… as you've already guessed they're going to end up in the same team, but who else is going to end up in the team?! You can guess but I'm quite sure you will fail hehe, good luck!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. I do however want the kitten that my friend got today…going to play with it Friday so yay! This chapter may feel a little bit rushed with the storyline, but this is for a few reasons. Number one is that there will be some flashbacks later on that are needed. It isn't my best chapter so far… but it was a bitch to write. Writing a graduation exam is annoying as hell if you want to keep it short, I didn't want to spend a whole chapter on that alone! Oh and Naruko will be totally different from the original Naruto, same with Hinata and a few other characters. I hope you like it even though this is a meh chapter…**

* * *

The door opened and we went inside, looking around I could already see a couple of old prune faced farts sitting on the ground. Why can't councils ever have any younger people? Come on how can nobody understand that there's a difference in generations and old customs don't always work…

"Hiashi why did you summon us in such urgency?" they're not even showing respect to their supposed clan head! And they talk about the younger generation lacking manners!

"I have called for this meeting to discuss a matter of utmost urgency regarding Hinata."

"You finally decided to brand her?!" Brand her?! How dare they!

"No, actually it's quite the opposite." We sat down and Stutter was shaking with nerves, poor thing… "A few moments ago Chiriku the head monk approached me with some news and a request."

Some arched brows were seen "Tell us, what does the head monk and one of the Twelve need with the Hyuga?"

"Before I tell you I need you to vow to our highest level of secrecy. What I'm about to say is not to leave this room, ever"

"Are you certain about this Hiashi, that vow is no small matter even for us"

"Very certain, I will begin. I, Hiashi Hyuga, vow never to inform anyone outside of the present members of what I'm about to say. Failure to do so will mean my death." A seal on his eyes appeared for just a second before fading away, some gasps could be heard from the old prunes.

"You really did it… very well, as your father I will do so as well." Everybody vowed to keep silent "Now tell us what's going on? It'd better be worth it or you know the consequences."

"Hinata was born with Light Chakra as her element."

"WHAT?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?" an outcry was heard and some farts even fell to the ground in shock.

"I am, this also explains as to why she couldn't learn our arts, she is incompatible with them. Therefore I have decided to make her the Hyuga representative for the Daimyo, this is also due to her connection with their daughter." So he's still just using Stutter, great father indeed…

His apparent father spoke up "I see… this indeed changes things. I agree with your plan"

"So she will no longer be the future head, then why aren't you branding her?"

"Because that would conflict with political matters as well as possibly interfering with her extremely rare chakra type. Before you begin about marriage or spreading her gift you must also know that forced marriage or intercourse do not work. The only way to pass on the gift is through…love, only a child born from love has a chance to get Light Chakra."

Silence reigned for a while until one of the other farts began "I agree with your plan, you also mentioned a request?"

"Indeed, Chiriku has asked to help train Hinata. He has also found a way to possibly incorporate our Gentle Fist into his technique, you know which one I'm talking about."

"We accept! That would become a great boon to our family, if we somehow manage to incorporate that technique in future generations!"

One elder seemed confused "What technique?" is he serious…

"The Thousand armed murder, imagine having multiple arms to use the Gentle Fist from every possible angle. That is the potential, but I don't understand how that can work, ones with Light Chakra shouldn't be able to directly attack?"

"He reasons that because the arms are incorporeal they don't actually count towards directly attacking, therefore it should be possible."

Some heads nodded and every other member responded in unison "I agree with your plan"

"Hinata, you are hereby our representative towards the Daimyo. You will also be learning directly under Chiriku-san and me, do you accept?"

"I-I Do!"

"Then it is decided, I will make sure the Hokage puts you and Naruko on the same team. You can go back to your friends and join them in their training, I will stay here with the elders"

"Hai!" well that went a lot better than expected! Time to go back, it's almost dinnertime!

We met up with Naruko and Baldy, proceeded home and had some decent dinner. The events weren't that special except for the occasional question towards Stutter on how the meeting went. But she couldn't talk about it, she vowed, therefore the only answer was "I can't…I-I'm sorry Naruko…"

"Miauw" But I can!

Naruko smirked at me "Tell me all about it later Tora-chan!" will do my pet!

It was soon time for training and therefore the first day of Stutter's apprenticeship!

Baldy stood before us "As my apprentice I expect you to put in your utmost effort, your physical training will be more intense than you're used to so far. Most of it will be focused on speed and endurance, you don't need strength as you don't directly attack."

"Hai!"

"I will also be changing your Taijutsu style. The one that you're using now is basically next to useless for you. The one I'm going to teach you is focused on dodging and outmanoeuvring your opponents. If they can't hit you then they can't beat you."

Sounds good so far, easy enough?

"Naruko-san I will be training you in a similar manner, you've been doing it for years now but I have finally decided on what we have to focus."

Oeh do tell!

"Tell me Dattebanya!"

"Shunshin and Kawarimi." That's it? It doesn't really sound spectacular…

"But that's so boring!"

"No it isn't. You already use a lot of high speed movements in combination with Taijutsu. If you master both of these Jutsu to the utmost limit you will be able to leave afterimages with your Shunshins. It will also make it all the easier to get closer to your enemy, when you don't need hand seals or words you will be able to instantly appear wherever you wish in short distances."

"This, combined with a perfect Kawarimi, makes you extremely dangerous. Imagine one clone or you yourself charging a technique and suddenly switching with a clone that's nearby. It will make it almost impossible to dodge, you will be able to do this because of your shadow clones as they are identical to yourself. You can also strike a certain direction and force the opponent to prepare a block only to suddenly replace yourself with a clone that strikes at a totally different spot."

That's… that's insane! A normal shinobi wouldn't have nearly enough chakra to use this tactic as you need shadow clones to make such a perfect swap!

Naruko's eyes sparkled at the prospect "I'm in dattebanya!"

"I will be taking Hinata-san for physical exercise, make ten clones and train with those two techniques until you drop. Try out different ways to use them, spar with clones only using the technique, just try anything you can think of and see if the results are useful."

"One last thing, Kazuma has asked me to make you incorporate the Camouflage Technique in every part of your training. You are already fairly proficient in using it but this is also one of your core techniques. Use it at every opportunity you have."

"Okay!" Naruko made ten clones and began flashing left and right. She tried not using hand seals only to find it to be a lot slower…this however made her grin, she loved a good challenge!

"I'm going to get this down dattebanya! Tora-chan you should join as well!"

That's not such a bad idea actually, I may be immortal but that doesn't mean I can't be stopped. I also need to become stronger in this weakened form if I want to help Naruko later on.

A few months passed…we met Shikamaru's parents and I have to admit that his mother is a demon… I'm too traumatized to think about it at the moment so that will come at a later date. Classes were boring and nothing special happened. Actually…a few things happened that were interesting…

One such occasion was with the Emo Prince, you know, the stuck-up prick that thinks he's better than others even if you disprove him just a second ago?

* * *

( Streets of Konoha )

We were walking through the streets enjoying the peace and quiet after a few days of gruelling training and even worse classes. A commotion was heard in the distance and I couldn't help but feel that the voices were familiar…

"How dare you?! You make me, an Uchiha Elite! Pay more than usual for the wares?! You should feel honoured that I even shop at this pathetic place!"

Yep he was getting acquainted with one of the rulings passed down, not to treat him like a prince!

"I'm sorry Uchiha-san! But... The council passed a law stating I can't do it anymore… they would take my shop away from me!"

"What?!"

Oh this was getting good! "Miauw"

"Hey Prince of Emo's, how's it hanging? Sorry I should use a different question, that would imply you actually have something down there…" Daaaamn Naruko that's harsh! She really came to hate him from all the comments and situations he keeps making in class…

"YOU! YOU'RE THE REASON!" True, can't deny that.

Emo stormed towards us "I'LL MAKE YOU PAY, YOU FILTHY PEASANT, HOW DARE YOU DISRESPECT AN ELITE!" he really still doesn't know how wrong he is?!

He tried hitting Naruko only to find his face slammed into the ground, Naruko then picked him up by his back and threw him against a wall! He collapsed to the ground with blood coming from his face "Weak…how can someone so weak be so arrogant?"

He struggled to get up "How dare you call me weak!" and yet again tried to attack… what a moron…

Naruko yet again threw him against a wall "Because you are! Let's go Tora-chan I feel like getting some Ramen!"

We left the unconscious emo on the ground, villagers glared at our actions but didn't dare comment on them. They're finally learning…don't mess with us!

He would try and challenge us every now and then, mostly ending with him unconscious or in the hospital. He must have some enhanced stupidity factor?

He did have some company though, Dogbreath tried hitting on Naruko a 'few' times and ended up having his crotch bleeding for some odd reason. It went something like this "Naruko why don't you go out with an alpha hunk like me? I'll show you how long we can last hehe"

Then he suddenly began bleeding and screaming as he held his crotch…every time… If it wasn't me punishing him it would be Naruko herself though. She does NOT like sexual comments or constant harassment! The most fun moment was when she threatened to tell his clan though!

This scared the everliving shit out of him, he became pale and begged us not to tell them…we may or may not have been blackmailing him with it ever since, some may find it odd that a dog person would love fish so much…

Contact with Sleepy stayed pretty much the same, as I said we visited his house, met his family and hung out sometimes. But he is just too lazy to do more than that, if we don't take the initiative to invite him then he will just lie down and watch clouds or sleep. We don't really mind, he's considered a friend and even I like him but most of the contact stayed within the classroom or shortly afterwards. Shame… maybe this would change at a later time when he's less lazy…

* * *

( Almost Graduation day )

It was time for training, I was sitting on a pillow watching as Naruko and Stutter trained. Stutter had grown in ability tremendously, she became a lot quicker and nimbler next to her mastery of some Light Chakra techniques. She was now facing off against Baldy, she never really sparred against Naruko as the latter has trouble holding back when she gets excited…I'm not saying that Stutter is bad, it's just that Naruko is far too strong for her.

"Welcoming Approach: Hundred-Armed Kannon!" She changed the name as it apparently felt right to her, it was now named after the spirit it represents and radiates a more regal aura. There are a couple of differences compared to Baldy's version, one is that she can move like usual while using it which is the biggest advantage. The second one is that the strikes aren't fists, they are either palms or outstretched fingers. She's able to do one-hundred arms at the moment, but this number will increase with time. It's basically a combination of the Gentle Fist and the Thousand Armed Murder.

The trick with this technique is that it doesn't just require training, it also requires a strong spirit. The more indominable your spirit is, the stronger it will become. Stutter's spirit was shaky at first, she was always shy and withdrawn, this has changed…but I will always call her Stutter!

The strikes went towards Baldy and he was forced to either dodge or cancel them out with strikes of his own…the problem being that his Light Chakra doesn't affect Stutter's. She can't be harmed by Light Chakra and it can't stand in her way, therefore his greatest strength is removed.

That doesn't mean she has any chance of winning, he's still strong! He apparently uses a staff, something that I've never seen him do before Stutter arrived. He's also very proficient with Earth Jutsu, something that Stutter can get a bit annoyed by.

Every strike was met with one of Baldy's, rocks shot from out of the ground towards Stutter, forcing her to go on the defence most of the time. Her shield stopped every attack that was below B-rank without any problems, it was just that strong. Some stronger hits do manage to penetrate her defences though even if the broken shield mends itself almost instantaneously.

Baldy didn't go in for the kill, he kept attacking her in order to tire her out and give her as much experience as possible. Every time an attack penetrated the shield it would leave the barest of damage only to show that it could have done worse, Baldy wasn't so bad… he's actually kind of grown on me.

Stutter fell to the ground in utter exhaustion "You did well Hinata, you managed to hold out for almost fifteen minutes this time. Your mastery of my arts is also improving steadily, I estimate you are mid-Chuunin level by now. But, there is still a lot of room for improvement, you need to be quicker and try to invent techniques to utilize the Light Chakra, that is something you have to do by yourself."

He's right, it's already amazing that Baldy managed to create such a technique without a natural chakra type. I bet it took him countless years…Stutter will be able to make techniques once she gets the hang of her chakra, only time will tell what she'll think of.

"Thank you for your guidance!" not a single stutter, shame… it was kind of cute.

The person that would end up on their team would be kind of screwed… Stutter's already mid Chuunin level and Naruko…she's…a little bit higher with her new technique…

"Is it finally my turn dattebanya?!" it's just that she's kept it secret from Baldy until now, so this is going to be fun!

Baldy sighed "It is Naruko, calm down… you've something to show me?"

"Maybe…" she smirked and I did as well.

"Let's begin, show me"

Three clones appeared next to her "Buddha's Protection!"

"Only three?" Baldy was a bit confused understandably, she often uses a few more.

A thin red line appeared in between the shields and Baldy's eyebrow arched "Intriguing"

All Narukos disappeared from view "Camouflage Technique" and kept Shunshinning over the field, she never stood still for even a second! This was nothing new though, it was extremely tricky to find her as she kept disappearing from your view once you think you've found her…

"Welcoming Approach: Thousand Armed Murder" Baldy instantly went on the defence and waited for the attacks to approach him.

Red claws shot towards him from out of nowhere and were met with his Spirit Fists as they cancelled each other out. Shockwaves and bursts of air appeared around him from the constant assault.

"Not bad Naruko-san, but it's time for me to tack action" an extreme amount of fists shot out with him as the epicentre and four Narukos were blown back. "So you can hold on against this many fists now? Let's test your limit"

A few hundred fists shot towards Naruko and she just stood there not even defending. She wanted to see how many she could take with the new technique! Fists hit her shield, every hit made the shield turn a bit redder for just a split second, this wasn't anything new. What was new however was the thin line in between the shields!

With every hit that the main Naruko took the shields from every other Naruko also lit up! Over two hundred strikes later and the shield was finally beginning to crack before it fell apart. Baldy stopped and could only slightly gasp "You managed to link them?"

"Yep! All the damage it takes is split between the shields, they also slowly repair each other if one of them hasn't taken damage in a while!"

"That's genius, you use the Kyuubi's chakra to support the link?"

"I do! It took me a long time to figure it out though!"

"It's something only you can use, a very remarkable technique indeed. And those claws, they were able to cancel out a full-strength fist of mine. How far are you in adding elemental chakra into them?"

"I'm quite decent at it, I can use the Paralysis effect with every claw and make the claw that I shoot out stick to my own with wind chakra. But I can't use them simultaneously."

"So two different types of claw attacks, well done. Your use of Shunshin was also remarkable, you no longer need any seals or words and there's no sign you are about to use it. The speed at which you use it is also good, but it's still not perfected as you're not leaving images behind. You still need work on your Kawarimi though, you don't use it often enough and to its full potential."

She indeed spent most of her time on the Shunshin and is therefore still lacking in the Kawarimi. But what do you expect in only a few months, the fact that she can use the first technique to such a level in combination with the Camouflage technique is already high level!

"What level do you rate me at sensei?" At least low Jonin in my opinion, you were already high Chuunin a few months ago.

Baldy apparently thought the same "Low Jonin, especially your new variation on Buddha's Protection makes you strong. There's a large gap between Chuunin and Jonin so even though you were already high Chuunin you have just now managed to pass that gap."

"You already well versed in your current techniques but need to polish them even further, your other sensei think the same thing. There has even been talk about you joining us if there is a spot open, you just need more experience."

"Therefore your strength is low Jonin, but your experience is still limiting you. You need to perform missions in order to truly become worthy of the rank."

A valid assessment, she's strong indeed but had no experience with either leadership or opponents outside of the ones she knows. But That'll come, I'm sure of it.

"Sensei…only two more days until graduation day. Are you going to stay being our Sensei?"

Baldy gave a rare smile "I intend to, I'm currently discussing joining Konoha for a limited time as your Jonin Sensei. The Hokage just has to give me the clearance and matching title."

Thank heaven! We won't be getting some random sensei, imagine us getting one of those lazy perverted useless ones! Only a few more days and we're done with that boring school…I wonder who the third member will be though?

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan's right, do you know who the third member will be yet?!"

"Maybe I do, I've been trying to find one with potential and think I've found one that fit the profile. He's apparently a bit quiet and blends in with others so you may not have noticed him as of yet." High chance he's right, I don't even notice the ones that are in the front…

"So it's a guy?! Is he cute?!" Don't you dare start thinking about guys!

Baldy almost facepalmed "How would I know?!" and even got slightly annoyed.

"Miauw" if he was cute you would've noticed him in class already!

"Oh…true… shame though"

Stutter's face grew red at the thought of a cute guy joining them and nearly passed out…she was still shy apparently "Miauw"

"That's what I was thinking Tora-chan, Hinata-chan needs some loving, a guy to hug her and show his love, a guy that will show her passion…and she passed out"

Such a low blow, you knew that would happen…

"The only way I can describe him is average, he's the very definition of the word on the outside. But don't be fooled for he is anything but. You will see in a few days' time, we'll stop for today as Hinata passed out."

* * *

( Graduation Day )

"It's time for your graduation exam!" this was it, the final day of this hellhole…it took long enough! Ponytail was beginning the day with meaningless explanations that this is our future etc. etc…

"First is the written exam. You will have fifty questions to answer within two hours. You have to answer 35 answers correctly in order to pass."

That seems acceptable, not too easy but not too hard. It all depends on the questions though. We sat down in our seats and were given the exam paper "Time starts now!"

The questions were far too easy! Questions like which types of chakra exist, which I guess the teachers don't even know themselves. How to manipulate them from a theoretical standpoint and what their weaknesses are… this is Genin level! Wait… they're trying to become Genin, I shouldn't expect anything more difficult…

Naruko answered all fifty questions without any problems, I couldn't detect even the slightest flaw in her answers. A small peek at Stutter's sheet and I found her having done the same, couldn't expect anything less… Sleepy's sheet though was a different story, he only filled in 35 answers and then fell asleep only having done the bare minimum!

"Time's up! Next up are the four basic Jutsu. I will call out your names one by one, you will then come before us and show them in the way we ask of you." We?

Two more examiner stepped into the classroom, one of them was sort of familiar but the other not at all…

"Mizuki and Daikoku will be joining us for this part of the examination. First up is Ino!"

Oh great, one of the fangirls… can't expect too much of those… she performed extremely mediocre. Her Shunshin was far too slow, she needed hand seals combined with voicing the Jutsu's name…it was of no use in the field! But apparently that was deemed good enough?!

Next up was the clone, while it looked perfectly like her, it was still useless… same with the Kawarimi and Henge, no use at all in the field… A pathetic level of skill required to pass an exam.

"Congratulations Ino you pass this part of the exam! Next up is…" a couple of no-name brats went up and did their thing, none of them deserved to have passed tough. All except one…this one was different…

"Perform the Shunshin for us …." He perfectly moulded his chakra and could have done the Jutsu without seals or incantation but he chose not to… it's like he wants to be average. I almost missed him if not for Baldy saying that the next team member was going to be the definition of average.

"Kawarimi" the same thing happened "Clone" and yet again… his Henge was off though, it was as if his Chakra didn't accept him changing his looks.

"We're aware of your situation with the Henge, you pass on this part of the exam."

Not a word of celebration, he just went back to his seat. If I have to pick anyone out of the whole class then it would be him, he's the definition of average on the outside…but nowhere near that on the inside.

Naruko hadn't taken notice of the boy yet and I was not going to make it happen, we will see in time if I'm right.

"Next up is Naruko!" the show-off disappeared from her seat only to instantly appear in front of the examiners. On her left was a shadow clone which transformed into ponytail, meanwhile to her right was a shadow clone that kept switching with a log back and forth.

"That's…sufficient, perfectly done Naruko, not even a single seal or incantation required and such speed. You pass!" of course she does! She's at a far higher level than any of you!

"Miauw" well done my pet.

"Thanks Tora-chan!"

"Next up is Hinata!" Ah Stutter's turn, at least I don't have to waste time until it was her turn. Good luck Stutter!

She walked down the steps to stop in front of the examiners "First up is the Shunshin" she instantly appeared right back at the end of the class and walked down the steps yet again. "Perfect, now is the Henge" while walking she changed her appearance to resemble Naruko, I think she has a thing for cats. "Clone" …to this day I still find this one of the most useless Jutsu ever… two clones walked down the steps. "Last up is Kawarimi" she switched places with the log that Naruko had just used. It was all done flawlessly.

"A perfect score as well, you can get back to your seat."

Murmurs went through the classroom on how Stutter suddenly became so good, the thing is, she had always been good. It's just that she'd been taught in a wrong manner.

More brats went up to show off their uselessness, even the supposed future clan heads were next to useless. Especially Dogbreath being the deadlast. But it's only the basic four techniques, they must at least be decent at something else.

The banshee went up and performed horribly but somehow still managed to pass, I call bullshit...favouritism at its finest. Sleepy did only what was required and nothing more just like on the test, something about it being troublesome to do more.

"Next up is Sasuke"

"KYAAAAH SASUKE-KUN, SHOW THEM YOU'RE THE BEST!" keep it together Tora…only one more day and you're rid of them. You can do this!

The screaming continued until Ponytail forced them to shut up "If you don't stop making so much noise I will fail all of you! Now shut up!"

"Sasuke, perform the Shunshin" Emo was nowhere near Naruko or Stutter's level, he still needed to use hand seals… the so-called elite right there.

"SO COOL SASUKE-KUN!" no it wasn't! The Emo even smirked thinking he was all that great…did he really not pay attention to Naruko and Stutter?!

"Well done, now for the clone Jutsu" Three useless clones appeared next to him with the typical smirk on his face as if he did something special… all those compliments have gotten to his head, he really believes he's kami's gift to the world! The same happened with the Henge though he almost refused showing it as he had no need to take the image of someone worthless.

Emo performed the Jutsu at a better level than the other brats, I have to admit that… but it was still far from useful in a real fight. "Sasuke you pass."

"Now that we're done with the second part of the exam it's time for the physical examinations. We're going outside, follow me!" Ponytail stood up and went outside as we followed him, the sooner this was over the better…

"First up is the endurance and training field exam! You're going to be running twenty laps, do the obstacle course and do two hundred push-ups, sit-ups and squats in the allotted time! We will be keeping track on your performance. We will test ten of you at each time."

The first group went ahead and we sadly weren't in it. It was a drama to watch, fangirls were panting after just a couple of rounds making it clear that they didn't properly follow the remedial lessons, the same went for some of the other civilian brats.

Only three out of ten passed!

"The next group is…" I do not care… "Naruko" okay I do care "Hinata" I'm in! Not that I'm going to run with them, one part of the obstacle course has mud…nope!

Naruko and Stutter began the exam and stormed off, Naruko was obviously the faster one and didn't hold back in the slightest. She finished at a record pace…and was done with the whole exam when most weren't even done with the laps. But she's Jonin level, you can't really compare them, the same goes for Stutter as she also swept the floor with the other brats. Although none of our group failed, it seemed that this one was filled with the future clan heads and had at least some skill for their age…

The last group was by far the worst as it had the Emo prince in it, girls fawning over him and brats trying to show off…needless to say that half of them failed. Glad that it was over with! Only one part left!

"As I've mentioned before this part of the examination was extremely important, those that failed can't take part in the final exam!" an outcry that it was apparently unfair later and it was finally time for the final part.

"The last part is Taijutsu! You will battle one of the examiners and hold out for five minutes. They are Chuunin level and will hold back so you needn't worry about any real injuries."

Some of the clan brats went first and passed, just about nobody that passed the last exam failed in this one. It was only a matter of how well they did.

"Next up is Naruko against Mizuki!" finally! That examiner has an evil glint in his eyes, it seems he isn't about to hold back! But he's going to be in for a surprise hehe "Miauw"

"I know, don't worry Tora-chan"

"Begin!"

Naruko Shunshinned from her spot and hit the idiot with such power that he slammed against the academy wall. He slumped down and fell unconscious!

"…Winner Naruko…Congratulations Naruko"

"She beat an examiner?!" sure did! And in one hit! That's for underestimating her and showing such an easy opening… what did you expect?!

"Next up is Hinata against Daikoku" Two fun ones in a row!

"Good luck Hinata-chan! You can do it!"

Stutter went to stand in front of the slightly plump examiner "Begin!"

He attacked Stutter with some basic level Taijutsu "Welcoming Approach: Hundred-Armed Kannon"

And fell down on the floor twitching…so anticlimactic… These are teachers for Kami sake!

"I'm sorry Sensei, I forgot to hold back…" you humiliated him, you utterly destroyed his pride, just look at that empty shell of a man.

"Winner Hinata…"

"SHE CHEATED! SHE USED NINJUTSU!" Technically you're not wrong…but it's just that she literally can't attack otherwise. Ponytail agreed with my assessment.

"The technique used is still classified as Taijutsu so she didn't cheat Sakura, you should focus more on your own exam with the results I've seen so far." Damn right, she's going to fail!

Ponytail was forced to do all the remaining exams by himself as the other two useless ones were down for the count. Sleepy went ahead and did the same as with his other exams, just enough to pass but nothing more that would require his energy. I wonder though… doesn't passing by the perfect amount cost more energy than actually just giving it a bit more effort?

It was time for the average kid to take his exam. His style was unique? It was mostly the academy style and just like Sleepy he barely passed…but his style was strange, it had some movements that would seem useless without Chakra added to it, which he didn't at this point.

"Well done, you pass. But you need more practice, there were some sloppy movements in your Taijutsu." No, there weren't, it was all calculated.

"Next up is Sakura!" oh great the banshee, the spar began and I had to look away from her disgusting display…it was just awful, how can one such as this hope to become a Genin?! How did she even pass the physical examination?!

"I'm sorry Sakura but you fail"

"WHAT?! WHY?!"

"Because you failed to hold on for even two minutes. Better luck next year Sakura"

"I WILL TELL MY MOTHER ABOUT THIS!" the other banshee? I thought she was removed from the council?

"You're threatening me now? You know she's no longer on the council, right?" some light killing intent began leaking from Ponytail, he did not like her tone.

She turned around and stormed off as she held a tantrum like a four-year-old… glad to see her leave. Let's hope we never see her again!

"Only one left, Sasuke it's your turn"

"Hmpf" he snorted and got into a stance that was full of openings! This stance is completely and utterly useless if you don't have the Sharingan, how does nobody seem to care about that?!

The spar began and he somehow held on against Ponytail and even managed to score a few hits. The fangirls were cheering for him and somehow claimed he was the best?

"You pass Sasuke, well done. This concludes the Graduation exam, follow me inside so we can tally up the scores."

Only a bit more…Almost done… we went inside to our seats and instantly fell asleep, at least I did. The results were already more than clear. If Naruko didn't make Rookie of the year with Hinata in second place I would be stunned.

"We're done with the scoring, I will call out the names of those that graduated from bottom to top."

Silence reigned as the hopeful brats sat up straight in their seats, at least most did. Our little group didn't seem to care.

"First up is Kiba" an excited shout came from Dogbreath, "Shikamaru" nothing surprising, he did the least he could but somehow still ended up above Dogbreath. Names were called one after another until only three were left, surprise surprise who would they be…

"In third place…Sasuke!"

"WHAT?! HE SHOULD BE ROOKIE OF THE YEAR! SASUKE-KUN IS THE BEST!" no he isn't, damn blind fangirl brats!

"His scores fell behind both Hinata and Naruko, therefore he is third. The scores don't lie."

A pissed off Emo Prince began glaring in our direction as if we committed a crime, not our fault you suck?

"Second place…Hinata!" thought as much. "And last but not least, first place goes to Naruko!" that's my pet!

"This concludes the results. The Hokage will determine your teams today, you will come back tomorrow to find out which team you ended up in and meet your Jonin Sensei. Class Dismissed!"

We're done! This hellhole is over! Well, one more morning okay but still, the annoying part is done!

* * *

 **It's a bit of a weird chapter as I may have rushed the story a bit. More school chapters seemed pointless actually. The story about meeting Shikamaru's parents will come but at a later date, he will be more prominent later in the story. But due to his lazy nature it's nothing more than this now. There will be some changes with Sasuke compared to the real story, this change will start from the next chapter, it won't be a dramatic change at first but will be important later on. Sakura will have a roll as well but extremely different than in Naruto. I'm not planning to follow the original story, there will be similarities but a lot will be changed. For instance there are still twelve guardians at the moment and this is for a specific reason later in the story.**

 **I hope you still liked it, as I said it may have felt a bit rushed… I have another chapter almost done and expect to put it up on Saturday. I wanted to post them together as that felt right, but I decided to suddenly change the next chapter by quite a bit. I still have to proofread it etc. as I hate mistakes even though I expect to still let through quite a few to those that are good in the English Language.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to.**

 **This chapter is about the newest team member, it may seem a bit boring as nothing really fun happens but hey, I have to introduce the new member. As I said he's just average, totally average…maybe…**

* * *

( Hokage's Office )

Seven Jonin stood around the Hokage's desk as they waited in silence for him to begin. He put down his pipe and looked at them with a smile.

"It's good that you've joined me, as you know the graduation exam finished today. We are here to divide the fresh recruits. We have a total of twenty-one that passed, seventeen from the class itself and four which did a special program after they flunked last year."

"Team 1 is still being used."

"Team 2 will consist of Ryuko, Kosei and Momoka. Their Jonin Sensei will be Hayama Shirakumo"

"Team 3 will consist of Kosuke, Daiki and Ayane. Their Jonin Sensei will be Hamaki Mimura"

"Team 4 is still being used."

"Team 5 is still being used."

"Team 6 will consist of Riku, Ryoka and Natsuki. Their Jonin Sensei will be Suzaku Nara"

"Team 7 will consist of Sasuke, Kiba and Sara. Their Jonin Sensei will be Hatake Kakashi"

Said Jonin interrupted him "I would like to have Naruko in my team as well, you know my reason for asking this."

"Sorry Kakashi but I can't do that. Chiriku-san will be her Sensei as he's already trained her for years. Her personality would also clash severely with Sasuke and Kiba."

"But…"

"No Kakashi, this is final. You will receive your team and work with them."

"Team 8 will consist of Naruko, Hinata and Yuuto. Their Jonin Sensei will be Chiriku from the Fire Temple"

"Thank you Hokage-sama, I will guide this team to the best of my ability."

"Team 9 is still being used by Might Guy."

"Team 10 will consist of Shikamaru, Ino and Choji. Their Jonin Sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi"

"Team 11 will consist of Shino, Kanna and Riku. Their Jonin Sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi"

"You will meet with your Graduates tomorrow at ten in the morning. You will test them to see if they are qualified to pass as real Genin, the test is of your own choosing. There is no limit to how many teams can pass, if they are worthy of passing then I expect you to do so."

* * *

( The following morning )

"Good morning Sensei! Are you ready to go?!" someone's excited… it's going to be the same thing except with one more person on the team Naruko. You have the same sensei, the same teammate and probably only a few more boring useless chores. There's nothing special about being a Genin.

"Calm down Naruko-san, we have more than enough time. I'm not supposed to meet our team until 10 anyway."

"I have to wait one hour?!" we have to wait one hour?! Why?! It's not like we don't know what's going to happen or who's in our team…Except for Naruko, she doesn't know about the last one.

"Then we can finally meet the third member, are you excited Tora-chan?"

"Miauw"

"What do you mean you already know who it is dattebanya?!"

It was obvious, way too obvious if you just payed some attention. "Miauw"

"…I was sleeping…" thought so.

"Let's be on our way, we don't want you to be late to hear who your sensei is going to be now do we?" sarcasm much?

* * *

( The Final Class )

As we entered the classroom we noticed the brats sitting in a small group speaking with a hushed tone. Apparently something had happened during the previous evening which caused a massive commotion in Konoha…

"Did you think our examiner would be traitor?! He could've killed any of us!"

"He did seem weird, the way he attacked Naruko in that test… it was weird"

"My father told us he stole something from the Hokage's tower!"

"You're mistaken, he made someone do it for him! I heard my parents talking about it as well"

"So you think…"

"Hn, apparently Sasuke-kun knew he was a traitor and lured him into a trap by taking the scroll as bait, he's so awesome!" Oh great one of those passed…

"What'd he take?!"

"The Forbidden Scroll…"

"Really?! He's so cool! So what happened?!"

"The only thing I know is that the examiner died…I'm sure Sasuke-kun is fine, how could anybody harm him!"

"True!" the door opened and the Prince of Emo's walked in with a slightly dark aura surrounding him, it felt off… it was as if it was made out of…yes, it actually was, it was Dark Chakra! The piece of shit did something last night!

"SASUKE-KUN! You're alright!"

"See, I told you nobody could harm him!"

The Emo ignored them and walked to his seat, on the way there he looked at us with an evil glint in his eyes and a soft whisper "I'll get back at you peasant, just you wait"

He changed since yesterday, sure he was always an emo and dramatic but this… he actually had some killing intent and the look of a maniac. The Dark Chakra affected him, or did it… maybe it just loosened the noose on his negative emotions even further? Whatever it did, it wasn't good. Not that he could harm us, he's still a weakling!

"Settle down graduates it's time to announce the teams!" silence…

"Some of the teams are already in use, so don't ask why I'm beginning with the second team and not the first… Team 2 is…" I didn't really pay attention as I knew what my team was, but I did see some new faces in the classroom, ones that failed last year maybe?

"Team 7 is made up of Sasuke, Kiba and Sara. Your Jonin Sensei will be Hatake Kakashi" Hatake? That somehow sounds familiar, but from what? Ah well, no sense thinking about it now! Poor him though for having the Emo on his 'team'…

"Team 8 is made up of Naruko, Hinata and Yuuto. Your Jonin Sensei is Chiriku" there we go! Let's see if I'm right, Naruko check, Stutter check…and last but not least the average guy that showed almost no emotion except for a raised eyebrow…

"Tora-chan, who's Yuuto?" Still doesn't know huh.

"Miauw"

"No way! But he's so…so…average…" no way really? I had no idea! I thought Baldy said he was crazy awesome and special! I thought his plain brown hair and eyes would excite you, or is it the six out of ten face and appearance that blends in with everybody?

"What do you think Hinata-chan?"

"He seems nice?" even she can't properly say something positive… trust me, the two of you are in for a surprise.

The division of the teams was being finished and we were told to wait for our sensei to appear, it should take ten to twenty minutes apparently. Luckily for us the door opened immediately and Baldy stepped in.

"Team 8, I'm your Sensei Chiriku, follow me" boring Baldy, acting as if you don't know us pff.

The four of us got on our feet and followed Baldy as he walked without a single word. We kept walking and walking until suddenly "We're picking up the pace, try to keep up"

He jumped and we were forced to slightly increase our speed, I immediately knew which way we were going as we've followed this path numerous times before. Yuuto, I still haven't come up with a nickname, didn't struggle to follow us at all. The speed increased even more, Baldy was testing the newby to see what he could do. The speed increased numerous times until we went at about 70% of our usual speed, surprisingly Yuuto managed to keep pace even if barely!

He panted lightly but didn't complain in the slightest. We soon arrived at our destination, the Palace! Yuuto suddenly halted in his track and gasped at the sight before him, he spoke a rare few words "We're going to the Palace?!"

Naruko gave a shrug "You don't know anything about us, do you?"

"No? I'm always too focused on my studies and training… I honestly don't even know anybody from the class…"

Ooooh it was one of these! The type that forgets a person after only five seconds of meeting them, not that I'm one to say something about that…

"We'll do introductions when we get inside. Follow me" Baldy just continued without telling him why or how they were allowed to pass. The guards slightly bowed before us and I could marvel at the sheer number emotions on the Newbies face. Shock, fear, curiosity and most of all nervousness, it was exquisite.

We arrived at our usual gardens where a table with food was already waiting for us! Damn Baldy you did great, not only did you pick a good location but you also arranged food!

"Please take a seat Yuuto."

"O-okay..."

Naruko and Stutter sat at their usual seats and began putting some pastries on their plates. "Can we eat yet?"

"Wait a bit longer Naruko" no -san at the end anymore?

"Finally you're dropping the formalities dattebanya! Why now after all this time?!"

"Because we're now officially Sensei and student, before this you were my master's daughter." Thought so, finally he's done with that annoying stuff.

The Newby shot up from his seat and stared at Naruko "You're what?!"

"The Daimyo's daughter" she gave him a brilliant smile as if it was the most normal thing in the world to say.

"Let's introduce ourselves shall we, Naruko you can go first as you've already begun. Some general things like likes, dislikes and your dream will do"

"Okay! My name is Naruko, I love Tora-chan, fish, my family, fish, Hinata-chan, training and food! My dislikes are judgemental people, arrogance and people that think men are better than woman as Shinobi. My dream is to bring together all nine tailed cats!"

Way to drop a bombshell!

"You want to what?! But they're demons!"

Killing intent spiked from both me and Naruko as we glared at him, Baldy eased the issue slightly "Stop this, the both of you. Yuuto there are many things you don't know about the tailed cats and more things that are false. For one, they aren't demons, far from it in fact."

"H-How so?" Oh great another Stutter…

"They are a force of Nature. And as a force of nature it is utterly insane to try and force your ways on them… many have tried and many have died, that's why they're called demons. Because they've killed so many humans in retaliation. Do you know of the term Jinchuriki?"

"I do, one of our books said something about them. They contain them, right?"

"Correct, it's good that you know they're not the same as the thing they contain. Naruko is one of them and has a close bond with her Tailed Cat. So don't disrespect them, understood?"

He nervously swallowed from the bombshell news and looked at Naruko "I'm sorry Naruko, I didn't know"

"Didn't know what?" she didn't let the issue drop easily

"That…that I was wrong in what I thought I knew. I will never call them demons again." He's quick to accept things!

"Apology accepted!" which makes it easy in this situation, he fits right in so far.

"Let's continue with you Yuuto, tell us something about yourself. As you may have noticed us four already know each other rather well, we will try our best to make you feel part of the group."

"Four?" hey! Don't tell me he forgot about me! "Miauw"

"Tora-chan is part of the team too!"

"…I'm sorry Tora-san, I didn't know." That's better!

"My name is Yuuto, I'm an orphan that lives by himself. I'm not really used to interaction with others so I might come off as clumsy, awkward or rude sometimes… my likes are training, chakra and living in the forest. My dislikes are fire, people that don't respect nature and standing out. My dream…is to become Hokage and be less average…" He doesn't want to stand out but wants to become Hokage?!

Baldy seemed equally surprised "Why do you want to become Hokage?"

He looked at us with a serious and unwavering expression "So there won't be any more orphans… I want to unite the world and stop the wars." Sorry kid but that's impossible, war is in the human's nature…many have tried, all have failed.

"A respectable goal, we will do our best to help you accomplish this. Last but not least is Hinata"

"Hai. My name is Hinata Hyuga. I like flower pressing, Naruko and Tora-chan. Training with Sensei, and pastries…I love cinnamon buns. My dislikes are stuck-up people, the ways of my clan and arrogance. My dream is to unite my clan."

Three big dreams, one even bigger than the other… it seems Stutter's is the most realistic one.

"And finally me. My name is Chiriku of the Fire Temple. I used to be the head monk there before I joined the Guardian Twelve, I will be your Sensei from now on. My likes are teaching, meditating, nature and a life of serenity. My dislikes are war, greed and the darkness in humanity. My dream is similar to yours Yuuto, it's to remove the darkness from the world."

A dream is a dream because it's not reachable in reality, you can't remove darkness. Darkness is as much part of us as is light.

"Now that we've gotten to know each other we will discuss some issues over lunch. As you may have guessed already Yuuto, neither Naruko nor Hinata are Genin level. Naruko has been trained for many years by twelve Jonin, the same goes for Hinata as she's from the Hyuga family. This is not to put pressure on you, we will see what your level is and do our best to bring you up to our level as quick as possible."

"Sensei, what level are they?" far above you…

"Naruko is Jonin level in skill, but she lacks experience. Hinata is Mid to High Chuunin but also lacks experience."

He looked at them dumbfounded "But they're my age!"

"Indeed, but Naruko is a genius of hard work, whereas Hinata is a genius at her own chakra. Neither of them have gotten so far by slacking. They don't take things for granted and strive to overcome themselves each and every day, and I expect the same of you."

"Hai Sensei!" he looked at us with newfound respect "Will you be testing me as well?"

"I will indeed, that's what we're going to do after lunch. I want to see what you can do, there will be no secrets between each other. You will not hold back any longer"

He suddenly quieted down before gulping yet again "You…you knew?"

"I do, you may have fooled others but I took notice of it immediately when I looked for the third member. You have a curious way with chakra, tell us about it while we're still sitting" the interesting part, I'm also curious as to what he can do.

"Okay…You must have also noticed that I can't use the Henge?"

We nodded, at least I knew and I'm sure Baldy did as well.

"The easiest way to explain it is that my chakra has a personality of its own? When I started living in the forest I became lonely…extremely lonely. I almost never had any human interaction as I was, and am, scared of human interaction… that I'm talking to you now is a miracle… I was so lonely that I sought company in things like animals, plants and trees and finally…"

"You reached out to your chakra?" How curious.

Newby nodded "I did, I played with it as a kid out of instinct and used it to have fun. One day something snapped in me and I woke up with a huge headache, and from that day I felt a bond with my chakra."

"Something snapped? Tell me, did you notice something off in your personality?"

He tilted his head as he thought about it "I never really payed attention to that…maybe I've gotten quieter and withdrawn? I don't know for sure…as I said, I don't talk with people much…"

He's got a split personality? And one of them fused with his chakra apparently, I never knew that could happen. It does make for a curious situation!

"Okay, I can follow your story so far. Now about your abilities, it seems as if you use chakra with everything. Even now I can see a slimmer of chakra around you if I pay close enough attention."

Stutter activated her creepy eyes "You're right! His chakra is moving through his body as if it's alive, it's not sticking to the pathways!" Oh? Now that's even more interesting, that sounds a bit like sage chakra!

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan asks if you're in tune with nature? I don't know what she means but…"

"I do! When I close my eyes and sit still I feel the nature around me!" thought so, he's actually tuned in with the nature itself if only a little.

Baldy's face changed as he heard this as well "Tell me, do you take in chakra from around you?"

"Yes? I always do… when I played with my chakra I had almost nothing so it quickly became boring… so I tried taking some from around me, I knew everything apparently has a little chakra because of people in the forest talking about it sometimes"

…He's not serious is he…sages train years to master the special chakra and he somehow lucks out as a kid! Damn kids not knowing any better, I think him being young actually helped as brats have better instincts!

"What can you do with that chakra Yuuto?" a good question, I wonder as well…

"Uhm, I spread it around me like fog. I then use the fog to create things like blades… I also make myself stronger and feel stuff around me. I like shaping things with my chakra?" he held up his hands as they turned blue, the next second the chakra shaped into all sorts of animals. A small fox, rabbit, cat and some critters…his shaping skills were amazing to say the least! It must be because he did nothing other than this as a child, it's just natural to him, amazing.

"That's enough Yuuto, you have a great gift that can be developed even further. First we have to see which path would be the best for you. There are some general things that I will be teaching you as I've taught the others, you need to be able to use the Shunshin and Kawarimi without any seals or words. My philosophy is that dodging and surviving is more important than beating the other person quickly." A solid one, wear them out and wait for an opening, or keep dodging and support your allies.

"But Sensei, I can already use those without seals or words…" Told ya so

"Show us"

He did do it without signs but it was still too slow, it took almost a full second before he got to a new location. "Still too slow Yuuto, you need more practice. Naruko, show him"

Newby looked at Naruko with curiosity "Okay!" and watched as the latter suddenly disappeared from her spot, she changed location about two to three times a second! A log appeared next to her to which she kept replacing herself with it back and forth with record speed…Newby could only look with large eyes and an open mouth.

"That Yuuto, is how you use them. And Naruko is still not even near fully mastering them, she's proficient yes, but not a master as of yet. You will have to be able to do both in half a second before you pass"

"Hai Sensei" Haven't really noticed the socially awkward part of him yet, but I'm sure it will come. Maybe he's so in the zone at the moment that it's going decent.

"We're going to have a quick spar, you will show me what you can do. This way we can judge on which parts we will have to focus during the coming year."

"Why one year?" Ye, why?

"Because that's when you will participate in the Chuunin exam. These are held two times each year, the next one being held in six months' time. But you aren't ready for those, actually you are, but I still have much to teach you. You're required to have finished six C-rank missions before you can participate, we will do those in the final six months. These first six months will be fully used to train and nothing else, not even D-rank missions." Sweet! No boring ass crap like that!

"Why not? Don't we need the experience?"

"D-rank missions are a waste of time…even the new monks at the temple didn't have to do such menial tasks each and every day. They say it promotes teamwork, I say it promotes annoyance" so very true…

Newby didn't seem to glad about it though "But…I need the money in order to live… I can't buy Ninja equipment and stuff like that from my allowance…" No worries Newby, Tora-chan will save the day!

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan's right! You can stay here!" then we won't have to move to the damn village each and every day thank kami!

Baldy looked at us with a smile "That's actually a good idea you two, Hinata we will see if you can live here as well. It will give us all the more time to train, Yuuto, you said you like living in the forest correct?"

"I do"

"Do you want to stay in a room or in the Daimyo's forest during your time here? I can arrange both for you if you wish"

"The forest! I can really stay here?!"

"Of course, why would I have said so otherwise" I think Newby isn't used to this…

Newby seemed relieved and smiled "I would like to stay in the Forest please" I think his stay in the Konoha's forest may not have been by his own design, or at least not without an incentive.

"I will arrange it; do you need to grab your belongings?"

"I don't, the only thing I own is the camp I made and these clothes" I thought he said he got an allowance?

"That's not a lot, why is that?"

"I'm…afraid to go into the village…" he's not that shy, is he?!

"…I won't ask further about the subject then, I can see it's a somewhat difficult subject as of now. Maybe later when we get to know each other better."

"Thank you Sensei" Damn you Newby, you've made me curious, making me curious and then not telling me what's going on is extremely annoying! I will be thinking about this all day long!

"Then it's time for the spar. Follow me" the two went a bit further towards the clearing and stood in front of one another ready to begin. Newby being extremely nervous of course.

"Begin!"

Newby released a blue fog around himself and held out his two arms. Two small blue balls formed and began spinning in the air around him. I couldn't tell what they were for except that they were obviously made from chakra. His next act was a bit more obvious, two large blue blades formed on his forearms leaving his hands open to use.

He ran at Baldy as the fog followed his every move, it always had the same radius around him of one metre. Baldy stood there just waiting for the attack, Newby slashed his right blade horizontally to which Baldy was forced to dodge.

He dodged sideways…only for the blade to suddenly change form and follow him! Apparently as long as someone was within range of the fog he could change the shape of his blades to follow them!

Baldy however wasn't an expert for nothing, he grasped the blade with a shield covered hand and looked at it with interest. "Now I've caught you, what's next"

Newby smirked and slashed his other blade to which Baldy moved the grasped blade in hopes to block it. Blocking ones' slash with his own blade, that's just uncool… the blade he held just vanished! Baldy looked a bit surprised and dodged backwards enough to dodge the incoming slash even as it changed shape. He looked back at Newby only to see two fully formed blades yet again.

"So you can make it appear and disappear at will, and even change its shape while it's in range of your fog. A most interesting skill indeed."

Newby said nothing and just stood still obviously stalling for more time, but for what? I looked closer only to suddenly see four blue balls spinning around him! They multiplied! Do they suck in charka from the fog to multiply by themselves?!

Newby rushed in again with a constant barrage of attacks which Baldy either blocked or dodged, he didn't go on the offence himself as he wanted to see what the newest member could do. This went on for a couple of minutes until sixteen balls of chakra were spinning around the Newby…sixteen balls that didn't seem to do anything, but what for?

Baldy decided to find out and attacked for the first time on his own, he took his staff from his back and attacked the Newby. The latter was surprised with the sudden attack and tried to dodge mid-swing of his blade but fell short, the staff would have hit him!

It would have, but it didn't. One of the balls shot towards the staff at the very last moment and cancelled it with its own force. So they're used as a defence, a defence that gets stronger the longer the fight lasts. Useful in the long run, but useless when you're forced to defend early on?

Baldy thought the same yet again and continued attacking. Newby blocked the attacks with his blades if possible and was forced to block the others with this diminishing amount of chakra balls…only three were left which luckily for him multiplied to six after the last exchange.

Newby went for a last assault and attacked with both blades vertically. Baldy, instead of dodging, decided to block them with this staff. Or at least he tried to as they went through his staff. They suddenly disappeared only to materialize again after they passed the staff!

Baldy was taken by surprise and for the first time Shunshinned to the side, it was the first time Baldy was forced to use an actual Jutsu. He appeared one metre to the left and was instantly hit by six blue balls of chakra as they seemed to have anticipated where he would appear! So they not only block but also attack, how useful.

But how did he know where Baldy would be appearing? Shouldn't that be impossible?

The six shots were blocked by a shimmering shield, Baldy had it up this whole time… of course he did, he just didn't have to use it until now except for the small shield when he grabbed the blade.

"Great work Yuuto, we're ending the spar now. You managed to hit me with an attack as I didn't think your chakra balls could also attack, you did well in tricking me. But how did you find out where I would appear?"

Newby scratched his head "I sensed your chakra moving" he's that good a sensor?! That's incredible!

"You did what? That's at an incredibly high level Yuuto, are you sure?"

A quick nod was the response, apparently it was, if not then how was he able to do what he did? This Average brat wasn't average at all.

"And am I correct in assuming that you can extend those blades of yours to whatever area your fog covers?"

Another nod. "That is a useful skill indeed, but you need to work on your deception more. If you'd suddenly switched the length or movement of the blades when I wouldn't be able to dodge it would have been far more effective. You could also have tricked me into thinking they had a fixed range for the first few exchanges."

Deception is the number one trick in a shinobi's books. He did do that with the last attack though so points to him.

"Overall you did very well, your techniques are unique and have a lot of potential. But I can't help but think that you're more suited for a different fighting style."

"Why Sensei? Didn't I do good for a beginner?"

"Because of those multiplying balls, it'd be better if you had a fighting style that gave you more time before finally attacking. After you have enough balls you will finally attack, so a style that dodges and retreats until you are at your maximum strength would suit you better."

"This style also fits rather well with Hinata and Naruko. Naruko is a front-line attacker that takes the attention of the opponents while Hinata supports him. You will have all the time needed to build up your strength and then go for an all-out assault when the opportunity arrives."

I could see Newby getting slightly frustrated by the idea, he didn't like it?

"So I'm just a backup?"

"No, you're not. You're the clean-up crew. Imagine having over a hundred of those balls ready to attack and then giving the opponent no chance to escape or retaliate. Why would you put yourself in a difficult position if there's no need?"

"But…"

"No Yuuto you're mistaken. You aren't a backup. I will be teaching you a number of techniques that'll allow you to do the same thing if you're by yourself. You will be just as effective alone as in a team if you do this right. Just trust me, I've got a lot of experience by working as one of the Twelve."

This convinced the Newby and rightly so. Baldy was right, he's in a team now and has to take the position that's best suited for him. His average demeanour is actually helpful in this, the enemy won't take notice of him until it's too late because Naruko and Stutter grab far more attention.

"Okay Sensei, I'll trust you…" still not totally convinced but good enough. Don't worry Newby.

"I will be training you in evading and speed, you need a lot of speed for those blades to become effective. You will also need it to evade attacks and stall for time. Therefore the coming year will contain a lot of physical training."

Oh great, even more of that… but he's right, speed is key for a good shinobi.

"I will also be training you in your chakra affinity"

This surprised the Newby though, he didn't think he would be doing that so quickly!

"Isn't that for Chuunin?!"

"It isn't necessarily. Most wait until they're Chuunin because of the chakra requirements, you however have enough and great control of it. In fact," he threw the Newby a piece of chakra paper "put your chakra into that"

The startled Newby caught the paper and looked at it before doing so. The paper crumbled into dust showing that he had a good earth affinity and nothing else.

"Earth affinity it is, that's well suited for the style I'm going to train you in. Earth Jutsu are very well suited for both defence and offence, if you have enough control over it you might even be able to destroy entire areas with it or control the pace of a battlefield"

As well as something else, you're forgetting his Sage chakra. Sage chakra is made by becoming one with an element…and an Earth Sage is terrifying you can believe me on that, they're almost unstoppable if they've mastered the arts enough.

Newby smiled greatly when he heard he had earth affinity, he said he hated fire so he must be glad he doesn't have that?

"Earth huh, I like that."

Or it's because of his love of nature, Earth is nature more than any other element. Sure Water may help with providing life and Fire in giving warmth needed, but without earth nothing would be possible. I wonder what he'll turn out to be, he's almost as special as Naruko and Stutter…

* * *

 **So there ya have it, the new member. His skill may seem a bit overpowered but I'm changing things for the better compared to the original story. I feel that some mediocre Jutsu etc aren't really worthy enough of Jonin…therefore the really strong dudes are going to be even stronger hehe. And before you ask, yes there is a chuunin exam in Konoha in six months' time, but I will not say anything about them participating as of yet, that'll be a secret. And Duckbutt has learned a new skill, but what is it? Find out in the next episode of Tora the Ten Tailed Cat.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. I do want to thank you for the nice reviews though! Also thanks for the follows and favourites, it's really nice to see that people like my story! I have to get used to writing action scenes, it's quite different than a normal story part so that'll take some time to get used to. If you find any spelling mistakes please let me know, I try to keep them to a minimum but I'm not a native English speaker so yeah.**

 **Have fun and have a great day! I'll be sick the coming week and maybe even two weeks so I should have a bit more time to write. I'm already halfway done with my next chapter so you can expect it to show up around the weekend.**

* * *

Today was the day! The best day of my life, Stutter was moving in! All the glorious petting in reach whenever I want… is this heaven? No, it's just what I deserve, thinking about it, why did it take this long! I deserve better!

We had already picked up both Newby and Stutter from the boring rundown village. Thank Kami that we have little incentive to visit that horrid place anymore… maybe for Sleepy? Maybe…

"Hinata-chan we're almost there! Are you excited Dattebanya?!" A rare type of smile covered Stutter's face, a true genuine one. It seems that she likes being here a heck of a lot more than the stuffy prick filled estate. Good for her!

"Hai!" a short answer though, typical for her.

Newby was just silently taking glances at us as he ran slightly behind us. It seems he was indeed a bit awkward and has to get used to this interaction, especially girls give him trouble, how cute. Baldy keeping him company, apparently trying to include him in the group as much as he could.

"What about you Yuuto, ready to see your new home? I've arranged both a spot in the forest and a room in case you decide to sleep inside for once. Some of the Twelve also said they're willing to help build you a home in the forest."

"A home? You mean like a shelter?" of course not… stupid Newby

"No, I mean a small house made out of the trees there. You will still be living in the forest but in a better condition than you're used to. It's also located next to a small river and waterfall"

This'd gotten him excited "Really?! I would appreciate that greatly!"

"My good friend Kazuma is willing to help with various seals and changing the landscape with his Earth Jutsu. Kosuke and Asuma will cut the wood with their Wind nature and together we'll create the house. Asuma has little time himself due to his own team but he said he is willing to come help during the afternoon."

"Thank you!" How nice, this will also help with introducing him to various Jonin of the Twelve. I know they will try and help in this group's training whenever they have time. It's quite special though, having Twelve Jonin to train you.

We arrived at the palace where a small entourage was waiting for our arrival. It was comprised of some bodyguards, two of the Twelve and last but not least the Daimyo and Fatty.

Newby noticed this a little too late as he was in conversation and gasped as he went to his knees. "Daimyo-sama!" oh yeah, this was the first time he meets them!

"You don't have to kneel Yuuto-kun. A friend of Naruko is part of the family, and family doesn't act like this."

Fatty ran up to him for a hug and Newby had no idea how to react… poor him just let it happen, although she did learn to hold back! "Welcome to the family Yuuto-kun! Come come, let's have lunch!" Good idea Fatty, you're always a genius when it comes to food!

The Daimyo ruined the fun shortly though, if only for a bit. "Yuuto-kun, these are Kazuma and Kosuke. They have expressed interest in helping your training."

"I-It's nice to meet you." And gave a polite bow.

"The same goes for me Yuuto-kun. You can call me either Sensei or Kazuma from now on. We've heard of your interesting chakra nature and decided to help Chiriku with your training. I myself am proficient in both Earth and Wind Jutsu, as is Kosuke."

"It's good to meet you Yuuto-kun. I'm Kosuke, one of your sensei starting today. We will begin training you in one month's time. First we'll have to finish an assignment and set up a schedule, Chiriku will begin training you in the basics of Earth manipulation."

"Sensei!" and yet another bow… damn you Newby you'll have to learn not to do that!

"Let's get inside Yuuto-kun! It's time for lunch Dattebanya!" Finally!

We followed the group inside as the Daimyo showed Newby and Stutter their new home… this was taking far too long, I thought we were going to have lunch, not walk for an hour…

"This will be your room Hinata-chan. It's right next to Naruko's so you can ask her anything if you need to. Right down this corridor is the lunch room of the Twelve, feel free to walk in if you have any questions." Sweet, Stutter's petting is right next door!

"We'll first have lunch and then show you the forest Yuuto-kun. Asuma will be arriving in one hour so we have enough time to eat." We went to one of the gardens as a large feast was prepared, all the other guardians were present and Newby almost fainted from shock… apparently some of them are his idols.

Newby was introduced to everyone as we sat down for lunch, it was a bit too crowded but nobody dared steal my food so that was good. The conversation went on about Stutter and Newby and how they liked their new home so far, what they did in Konoha and some general things such as what they liked doing. Newby being too shy to reply most of the time, we'll get him to loosen up just as we've stopped Stutter from stuttering!

* * *

( One hour later )

Lunch was sadly finishing up as most of the food was gone, my food at least. It's not that I ate much, it's just that they made too little, really! I mean it's only one hour of constant eating, that's normal if you like the food.

Smoky arrived shortly after and we went on our way to the final destination. The forest was right beside us in all its tranquillity. It was a nice place to live honestly, some small wildlife and decent trees, the gentle sound of a river, the light coming through the leaves. I could live here myself if needed, but it wasn't luckily. A small clearing opened up before us with some already chopped trees ready for use.

I could see the appeal of this place, it indeed had a small waterfall and most of all was a perfect fishing spot. Not that I've used it before… Okay, I have, often. Maybe that's the reason why they picked it, as it was already approved by me.

"This will be your home Yuuto-kun. How do you like it so far?"

"It's beautiful! It's way better than the forest I lived in before" he's a weird one, sometimes he stutters and other times he doesn't. It seems to have something to do with his mindset, he's distracted now and acts like normal, otherwise he's awkward and pays too much attention to his actions…

"Indeed it is, we'll begin making your house right away. Do you have any preferences?"

"C-Can you make it a bit small? A large house would make me feel all by myself…"

Fatty ruffled his hair "Of course they can sweety."

"Why don't the four of you go off to enjoy yourselves, we'll handle it here." A splendid idea Baldy, I feel like laying on a pillow, nice relaxing and soft. "Miauw"

"The pillow room?"

"Miauw" yep

Naruko shrugged "Sure, why not Tora-chan." She grabbed the other two by their arms and dragged them away. It was a nice day so far, how will it go wrong I wonder?

We entered the room full of pillows, and I mean it was packed with them! They were amazing, so soft but still so firm, great for your fur and most of all the perfect petting spot!

We sat down, or at least tried to… Naruko had one of her playful moments and threw the pillows at us! The barbarian, who throws pillows, they're meant for relaxing! She was not going to live for this mistreatment of pillows. I grabbed the nearest one with my paw and slammed her with it!

I glared at Stutter and Newby to join me in this justice, which they did of course. We each had a pillow and went on the attack, Naruko not having the chance to properly defend herself "Wait, I give up!" victory!

The massacre stopped and Naruko came back from underneath all the pillows with a grin that could only spell trouble! Oh no, clones, I forgot!

Five pillows went up in smoke and in their place stood a clone with a new pillow in hand, we were outnumbered! The following moments were awful… all those pillows wasted, destroyed… all those feathers to now play with and jump around in, it was a nightmare, I didn't know what to do! Jump around in the feathers or relax on a pillow, damn you Naruko!

* * *

( A few days later )

This is just unreal, Baldy's gone insane! Over the last few days he's been training us, including poor little young me, like a total homicidal maniac!

"Run quicker! BOOM" a massive rock landed right where we were running, he wasn't kidding in the least when he said he would train us hard…damn him, I hate his guts! He'll see…oh he'll see alright…

We had to do an insane obstacle course that contained a five-metre-high wall; some moats filled with all sorts of extremely spiky rocks; trees at which he would shoot rocks at us; a large terrain covered in mud and last but not least a large section with all sorts of pillars which would provide us with a bit of traction as the ground was littered with traps!

Did I forget he would throw massive boulders at us if we were too slow? And it's not like he meant to miss them, no he did not… they would land exactly where we would be if we stopped for even a split second!

We did this each and every day, but not once…no we did it three times! Stutter was forced to heal us of any superficial wounds after which we had some spars and a small rest…then it started all over again. Those were our days, training and nothing else.

I jumped on the side of a tree only to find it blown to shreds by rock bullets, a quick leap to a different tree in hopes that it would turn out differently... tree after tree was blown to bits and I was quite amazed that the forest had so many trees!

"That hurt sensei!" poor Naruko didn't do so great, Baldy was a lot stricter with her as she was already so quick and agile. Being good at dodging was a key part of her close-combat fighting style, she needed this, even if it was practically torture.

"Focus on any incoming attacks Naruko, never let your guard down." She didn't! You're just shooting at her like some crazy idiot!

We passed the final tree and arrived at the muddy terrain. At first I thought this would be the worst one, but it wasn't. The only thing that was needed was proper chakra control. Some might think mud is easier to move on than water but they were dead wrong, you needed a lot better control to move properly on mud as it tried to stick to you.

What didn't help though was Baldy moving the mud in waves towards us. If we became covered in mud then it was seen as a fail…but this part of the course was the easiest still.

We ran at our top speed, Naruko and Stutter having weights added to them in order to bring each of us to the same level. A wave came at us from the right which we skilfully dodged, some more than others… Naruko being the obvious show-off by surfing on top of it…

She loved this part and it greatly improved her control because she was having so much fun. Enjoying something helps a lot with learning, especially if it goes subconsciously because of the enjoyment.

We did learn one valuable skill in chakra control though. A couple of large waves began enclosing us and left us with no way out, the only way out was through a wave… We ran towards it and gathered chakra around ourselves until a light layer appeared on our skin. At the very last second, when the mud was about it impact with us we released all of it in a sudden burst and opened a hole in the muddy wave! We rushed through to safety and finished…

Only one part was left, the pillars of doom. We jumped on the side of the nearest pillar before it suddenly cracked, we had only a second to move from one pillar to the next before… it exploded… yep, they exploded and shot shrapnel at us which we had to dodge…

Some of the pillars exploded even without us touching them and we had to pay close attention to those, one mistake and we would be injured quite severely!

It was impossible to evade all of the shrapnel, as an obvious result my beautiful fur was getting cut…luckily for us that Stutter's healing also fixed this, if not then Baldy would have one hell of a problem!

Newby fell to the ground, his body getting closer to the spikes by the second until eventually it would have pierced. His body was suddenly switched with Naruko and poofed out of existence, close one…

"T-Thank you Naruko…" Still staying with Newby, Stutter number two is far too long.

"No problem Dattebanya! Let's finish this!"

The one positive thing out of all of this was that it made us more of a team. The threat of death will do that to you, for them at least, for me? It won't, I can't really die. But I'll explain that later!

"I said no Jutsu Naruko! You know the punishment!" She saved Newby's life and he's punishing her...

"No! Anything but that, please sensei don't!" she went to her knees and begged, righteously so as the punishment is far too horrific.

Baldy took out a sealing scroll and held it before poor Naruko "Rules are rules, keep that in mind" and opened it… out came a twisted abomination that should have never seen the light of this world… The Cone of Shame!

There is no worse punishment to a cat and Baldy knows this! Naruko began crying as he put the cone on her neck. She lay on the ground utterly defeated, glad it's not me this time!

"You will keep it on for one hour" … not even Stutter can heal such a drastic wound…

"But sensei, she saved me. I should be the one getting punished!" Yeah! The useless one is right!

"Did you disobey any rules?"

"No…"

"Then I don't have to punish you. Feel free to do the course one more time to make up for your mistake though." Was it really an option to say no at this point? I glared at the Newby, daring him to say no…if Naruko is facing punishment then so should he!

"I will." And began running, good Newby. "Miauw" Stutter, come pet me!

One hour to get my petting done, it was a bit short but worthwhile nonetheless. But she wasn't coming? Oh… I forgot, my translator is down for the count… fine! I'll walk up to her!

"Hinata we're going to spar while they finish their punishment" Noooooo my petting! I hate you Baldy!

* * *

( Two weeks later )

"It's time for your elemental chakra training Yuuto" Finally, took him long enough to get the basics! Really, somebody with that much skill in chakra manipulation should get the hang of those exercises quickly right…

They were quite easy actually, crumbling a leaf; the next step was crumbling leaves as they fell from a tree and the final two steps were crumbling small rocks as you held them and making them crumble form a simple touch… easy, right?!

Baldy wanted him to have a somewhat decent control of the element before he learned any Jutsu. Not that I disagree but still the idea is boring beyond belief…

"Sensei, what are you going to teach me?" could I hear a small tint of excitement in his voice?

"The Rock Armour and Rock Golem Jutsu. Both are B-rank Jutsu and will require some time to master. I will not be teaching you any other Jutsu until you've mastered these"

"Rock Golem? What's that?"

"A more advanced version of the Earth Clone. Clones aren't very useful except for minor attacks or diversion. The Rock Golem however is different, you are still linked with it through the earth and can give it orders, they are also slightly autonomous. But the best part is that they're capable of special techniques."

"So they're like Naruko's clones?"

"Somewhat, but they are far sturdier. Combined with your connection to nature you could improve them and make them A-rank."

"How so?"

"As I said they're capable of techniques. They're not really used in our lands due to our limited mastery of the earth element, but they're used a bit more often in Iwa. Even if they're used rarely there due to their required skill level."

"The techniques depend on the user, some are capable of forming shields to defend the user, some make large blades to attack with and others shapeshift during battle. A perfect mastery combined with your connection to nature might make them able to do all those things and more."

"Awesome! So they're like his own private army dattebanya!"

"In a sense Naruko" That's quite brilliant actually, golems to defend yourself while your chakra balls multiply. Together with the Rock Armour for an even better defence, just those skills could make him a Jonin.

"The Rock Armour is your priority Jutsu, if you don't have to block attacks with your chakra balls then you have more chance to multiply them."

"And the final part of your training isn't truly a Jutsu, we're going to try and fuse your chakra balls with the earth. Instead of rotating balls of chakra they will infuse themselves with earth and become extremely dense bullets." That sounds a bit dangerous? I would not want to be the one to face a lot of those… it's like the Rock Bullet Jutsu but without the need to constantly cast it, the longer you wait the bigger the amount.

* * *

( The following evening )

"It's time for the last exercise for today!" oh great, what did he come up this time?

"Hide and seek!" Yes! Awesome! "Your team will focus on stealth and tracking, seeing as both Naruko and Yuuto are suitable for this role and Hinata is the perfect support. I've been training you on speed and manoeuvrability so far which is also because of this role. Therefore you will be doing a lot of hide and seek." Niceeee…

"You will be searching for all eleven present Guardians while they move around the Palace. They will do their utmost effort not to get caught." Damn, they're moving as well, this makes it a hundred times harder even for us! But it's still fun, we can do this!

"A few pieces of advice. Yuuto, try to stay linked with the earth around you. You will have to learn how to do this even while moving as the enemy won't keep still. Naruko we will be using different scents, sounds and tricks to confuse your senses; you can use your clones but it will only count as finding us if your main body is the one that catches us. Hinata you are less suited for this role, we are going to move around a lot and drain your stamina, try to use your light chakra to sustain your team." Sounds like a solid team, two trackers and one that makes them able to last longer at top speed.

"We will increase the difficulty each week. At first it's just finding us and sometimes hiding yourself, but at a later time we will also fight back when you catch us."

So we will have eleven spars with Jonin?! Damn that'll hurt…

"Are you ready to begin?"

We nodded and Baldy flashed away signalling that it'd begun. Naruko took the lead as her tail swayed around "There's a few presences in the direction of the main hall, let's start there!" we followed her and soon came to a stop. Naruko looked around slightly confused.

"I can feel their chakra but it's as if there's multiple of each?" Clones, they've used shadow clones! "Miauw"

"Damn Tora-chan's right, they're using shadow clones just like me! Hinata use your Byakugan to see which are clones and which aren't. Yuuto try to stay in touch with the earth to see where our target moves to."

"Hai!" Newby and Stutter listened to their tasks and knew that Naruko was the obvious leader as she held far more experience. She'd done this since she was a child and had a home-advantage over the others in her group.

"There's one nearby! It's that room!" Stutter pointed towards a room that was two rooms further than where we stood "You're sure it's not a clone Hinata? I can feel the same chakra signature coming from the room to our left as well."

"No, I'm sure it's not a clone. I've grown used to the way shadow clones look, they're really similar but a few small things are different." There you go Stutter, great work!

"Let's goooo!"

We ran to the room only to see the door suddenly open and a person flashing away "It's Seito!" we ran after him as fast as we could, but he wasn't a Jonin for nothing, damn he's quick.

"Hinata, Yuuto, track him!"

A sudden bright flash made Stutter clutch her head in pain as she stumbled to the ground. We caught her just in time "What's wrong Hinata?!"

"Miauw"

"The flash was made of chakra?! Damn her eyes must've been overloaded." A really nasty move, but extremely effective against the Byakugan.

"He went to the right!" Newby's stayed on his trail? Nice one!

"Hinata are you alright?"

"I'm fine… but I can't use my eyes for a while…sorry" this is going to make it a bit tricky…

"Let's get moving then, we haven't even caught one yet." We ran down the corridor as Newby told us where to go. He still had to stand still a few times to make sure but he seemed to be getting better as time passed.

A while later we finally stopped at a room which was a dead-end, he had no way to go. Naruko opened the door and saw him sitting on a bed with a grin on his face. Damn, we fell for his trap, how did we not realize!

"You found me! Oh no… I've lost… shame that everyone else is now nowhere near you." He lured us away, we had such tunnel vision that we didn't pay any attention to anyone hiding nearby.

"Sometimes an enemy will make a diversion to save his allies, never move with tunnel vision. It could also lead you to a trap so pay close attention to your surroundings. Just because I blinded Hinata doesn't mean you had to stick to following me. You lost your cool"

"Tss not cool dattebanya! You tricked us!"

"Trickery is the number one tool of a shinobi. Good luck, now please get out of my room." His room?! He lured us to his own room, what a pervert!

One down, ten to go. "Miauw" we can do this!

"You're right Tora-chan we can do this! Hinata, Yuuto, are you two ready?"

"Hn", "Hai!"

"Let's win this dattebanya!" we quickly left the pervert's room and continued running through the corridors in search of a chakra signature. We just needed one, worrying about the others would only slow us down.

"To the left, I sense someone moving"

Naruko's tail shot up to which she grinned "Thanks Yuuto. There's five rooms here, I can't pinpoint which one our target's in." then there's just one obvious solution right?

"Miauw" clones… duh

She hit slapped her head "Aaargh I'm an idiot!" five clones popped into existence and stopped at each of the doors "I'm going to open them at the same time. Be ready to catch whoever comes out"

The clones opened each door at the same time… BOOM a large explosion went off in the corridor! Who the hell uses explosions in a damn palace you brute!

The whole area was utterly blown up as the shockwave reached us, Stutter was shot back to a wall and fell to the ground coughing up blood!

"Hinata!"

Wait a minute, who would blow up a palace? No-one in their right mind would, the only explanation is an illusion "Miauw"

"Hinata, get up Hinata-chan!" tss Naruko's out of it in her sorrow… since when do Genjutsu target a group simultaneously? I thought they… I'm a moron… I flared my chakra and was indeed correct, I was in the Genjutsu individually…

The corridor was undamaged obviously. I looked to my side and saw Naruko, Stutter and Newby unconscious on the ground, amateurs! I should save them of their misery, right?

A small burst of chakra into each of them made them wake up with a confused expression. I understand Stutter and Newby but Naruko… she's got the Kyuubi inside of her, how is she even affected by Genjutsu?!

"Tora-chan…?"

"Miauw" you idiot!

"I'm sorry… I forgot to channel Kuranya's chakra…" Always channel it you dumbass!

Laughter resounded from one of the doors as it opened "Got you! We never said we wouldn't trap you brats."

Tss it's the sadist, just our luck that we found her second.

"Kaori-sensei…" no-one liked her… she's just a total bitch with her poisons and fragrance Jutsu. Lucky that she didn't use those just now.

"Come and catch me you brats!" Pass "Miauw"

We turned around and went the other way, no way in hell we would chase her. I'd rather lose!

"Come back here you brats, don't just walk away!" it's really the only thing you can do against her… chasing her with all those traps she can set up without notice, yeah nope not going to happen.

We casually kept walking away as the bitch chased us complaining nonstop. We passed a spot where the corridor intersected with another and turned left as Naruko apparently felt someone else in that direction.

"Caught you" Huh? Looking back I saw Naruko grinning as she'd grabbed the bitch. She hid a clone at the other side and switched with it when the bitch passed the intersection! Way to go Naruko now we're done with her annoyance!

"No! No no no no! It's not fair!"

"Trickery is the number one trick of a shinobi, you lose sensei!"

She held up her arms in frustration and cried out "Aaarggh I'm not done with you brats, just you wait for your training!" Oh damn I think I'm going to be call in sick for a day! Her payback was anything but fun!

The bitch stormed off, two down only way too many to go… we continued for another two hours and only caught five others, five! Which means we still have four to go and it's already night time!

"I give up dattebanya… there's no way we can find Kazuma-sensei if he uses his camouflage technique. And we still have to find Chiriku, Kitane and Tou... It's like they know we're coming when I finally spot them!"

Wait…they do know, they must be able to hear what we're saying! "Miauw"

"They can hear us?! Damn you Kazuma-Sensei you must've placed a seal on us!"

"Correct, it took you long enough to notice." What?! Holy Kami that scared the crap out of me! We all jumped from the sudden scare as he appeared right behind us, he was there the whole time?!

The bastard even began laughing! "It was fun seeing you struggle though!"

"You've been following us the entire time?!"

"Sure have, you only payed attention to things far away and not to the things right next to you. Even with my camouflage you should've noticed me, how else do you think we knew exactly where you were?"

Tss totally unfair, his camouflage is so perfect he could just straight walk up to someone and kill them. There's no way we could've noticed him…

"Especially you Naruko, you know my technique better than anyone else. You should know the give-aways." It has almost none! How in Kami could we have seen the slight disturbance in the air when you breathe or slight shift in dust or dirt on the ground when the palace is so damn clean?! Combine that with another silencing seal he obviously placed on himself and it's just done, no chance.

He should teach those seals to Naruko though, a silencing and odour removing seal works wonders with that technique. It's like the perfect assassin combination.

"Yuuto-kun, you could've also noticed my movement through the earth if you payed close enough attention. I dampened them barely enough so that you could've still felt them. There's much we can still teach your group."

True, we're far from ready to do any real missions. Anybody putting their Genin team through missions higher than D-rank before a few months of training is a total idiot. If this team of highly skilled Genin isn't ready then no team will be that's for sure.

Hide and seek was over… we lost… we met up with Baldy and the others for debriefing which basically meant the same thing as what Shady just told us. We needed more training, it's as simple as that. But most of all we needed experience, even if you have a high level of skill, with no experience it's almost worth nothing. Naruko is the perfect example of this.

"Tomorrow is survival training. We will be using the nearby forest for this, you four will be going to run from me, Kazuma, Tou and Seito for three whole days. You will be learning how to cover your tracks, gather recourses, make a shelter and most of all set up traps."

Traps? They're getting really serious with this training, aren't they?

"Kaori will be teaching you the basics of making traps in the morning. The best way to learn something is by actually doing it, only giving you theoretical knowledge would be pointless. That's why you're going to be using it right away for a couple of days." Learn by trial and error is it, if we fail we'll notice because they catch us.

"If we catch you then you'll have a chance to escape. You will be battling one of us, you're given a one-hour head start if you win. If you lose… then we're stepping up the training even further."

We're so totally screwed… if it's Seito or Tou we still have a chance but Baldy or Shady, no chance. They're all strong don't get me wrong, but those two are just in a league of their own compared to the others, especially Shady. He may seem jolly and nice but he's easily S-rank when he goes all out.

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 **That's it for this chapter. The next chapter is the three days of survival training! Also a quick thing, I don't do the normal ranking that're used in the bounty-books. In this story you have the ranks like this: Genin Low, Mid, High. Chuunin Low, Mid, High. Jonin C-rank, Jonin B-rank, Jonin A-rank and last of all S-rank. There is one step above S-rank, for instance Nagato and Madara aren't really just S-rank as they're far stronger. (Nagato will be a hell of a lot stronger in this story compared to his lame-ass version in the original). In the Bounty books it will therefore go like this: D-rank bounty is High Chuunin. C-rank bounty is C-rank Jonin etc.**

 **Naruko is a C-rank Jonin when it comes to skill at the moment, but due to her lack of experience she isn't worthy of that rank. Also… writing is hard… I've got the ideas for the later part in the story all ready, I've thought of some really good ideas with Nagato, Akatsuki and some other things. But then it's suddenly really hard to write the early part! So frustrating…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. I'm kinda tired though so I would like to sleep for 16 hours straight, I told you I was sick in the last chapter. I thought I would be able to do stuff fine, but nope my tonsils had to be removed as an adult, I had some complications and yeah I was down for the count for a while. I wanted to put something up though even if I'm feeling meh, so hopefully it's somewhat decent, maybe I'll rewrite it later. I don't know what it is but it somehow feels like the chapter isn't correct.**

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"Listen up you brats it's time for trap training! Lesson number one, don't get caught by a trap!" Oh no really? You wouldn't say!

"Number two, an obvious trap is often used as a trap for a different more hidden trap! Never try to dismantle an obvious trap, go far around them. Except of course if the enemy anticipated this and laid traps in those paths. In short, don't get caught!" Best advice ever…

"Lesson number three, use poisons and small things like spikes covered in them. Large traps are often too obvious, smaller ones hidden by the environment itself are by far the deadliest."

"Lesson number four, make traps strike from the blind spots. Also, don't let traps give any indication that they're sprung. Use things often found in the environment as the trigger, a simple stick being moved is enough to make another stick impale your target from behind." Nasty but effective, wait, you're talking to children! You're telling them to impale others?!

"The final lesson is putting traps in trees as well. Shinobi almost never stick to the ground in a chase, put traps in trees to force them to be wary of them. A shinobi that's forced to move on the ground is a lot slower than one that can use the trees."

"A good strategy when being chased is not to cover some tracks. Make it look like you've tried to cover them but failed, then place some colourless poison in the print. When the enemy touches the print to feel how long ago it's been made they will slowly become poisoned and slowed down. It won't be enough to kill them, but any time gained is precious in an escape."

"Be resourceful, traps with mechanics are sometimes too hard to set up in a chase. Use bags of poison gas for instance. Tiny caltrops laced with poison are also very useful while on the run." She sure loves her poisons, damn that's scary! I get that they're useful and all but still, that's just nasty!

"But Sensei, what about the traps that are left after a chase, won't they harm others?!" Of course they will, but escaping is far more important than thinking about others!

"They will. Poisons usually last about one day in the open air before they're not effective anymore. Mechanical traps however stay until they're triggered. Often a large storm or heavy rain will ruin them, but some will indeed kill innocent animals or even humans. But! Escaping and surviving is your number one priority."

It's a harsh world Naruko, you don't have time to worry about others. Staying alive is hard enough as it is especially for a shinobi, the average career doesn't last that long you know.

"I will be giving you mild poisons to use for the coming days. I will be teaching you how to make them yourself during the coming year, poisons are a basic tool for shinobi. We don't fight fair keep that in mind. Baldy" Hey she uses my nickname as well! "and the others will know that they're out of the game once they're hit with enough poison. You win if you incapacitate all of them or survive for three days." She tossed us a small bag full of vials and descriptions on how to use them, maybe she wasn't that bad? No, don't get caught off-guard Tora, she's a devil!

Proven by the fact that Newby suddenly slumped to the ground and became slightly purple combined with trouble breathing… "Don't trust anything someone just throws at you Newby, didn't you learn anything?!"

Stutter began healing him, his normal colour came back and his breathing returned to normal. The bitch poisoned the cover of the bag! We moved the vials to a separate bag and prepared to begin our training, I was not looking forward to the coming days that's for sure.

"Your training begins when my Kunai hits the floor, you have a one-hour lead." Instead of throwing the damn thing up like any normal person would in the situation she just straight out let it drop from her hand… Damn I hate her.

We ran towards the forest entrance as if our lives depended on it and in some way it did. This was practice, if it was a real situation we would have a big problem.

We halted after ten minutes of running to discuss our game plan, as much was possible though. Most of it would be running and not dying. Naruko spoke up first "I'll be taking the lead dattebanya!"

Newby however was not in favour of this, at all… the look in his eyes suddenly changed as well as the air around him. This was it, wasn't it, his other personality? He gave off an air that didn't allow an argument, one that just screamed his leadership, one that did not care in the least about others… in other words, he became a total dick…

"No, not happening. I'm taking the lead instead, Naruko and Hinata you two are stronger than me by far but you're far less experienced when it comes to surviving in the wild." True enough but still, you're the Newby, we're the pro's damnit!

"We have limited time, we're going to make a lot of caltrops first. Naruko, gather any useful sticks you can find and cut them until they have sharp edges on both sides. Hinata you have senbon correct?"

She nodded in confirmation, good girl. "Cut them in half and spike any tree branch thick enough for support. Cover them with a bit of dirt so they're less noticeable."

"We will be making a massive amount of traps from the beginning, make them wary of their movements right away. Even if we use a lot less later on they will still halt in their movement. Naruko will use her clones to help with both traps, we have twenty minutes before we move on."

"I'm going to cover the earth with spikes, get moving"

Yuuro began grinning as he came up with a plan. "Hinata, cover the tree branches as planned. We will make them take a different route, make them think it's safe and plant a few poisoned traps."

"I will make such a large number of caltrops that my clones can take them and spread out to throw them everywhere."

Newby nodded his head "Good, I'll remove our tracks with earth manipulation. Hinata you will use your eyes to check for pursuers"

"If we see that they're gaining on us we will Kawarimi with Naruko's clones and suddenly change direction. Let's begin!"

We took the entire twenty minutes to place traps on the whole area and continued doing this as we moved in our escape. A good trick of the Shadow clones is that they clone any item that the original is holding. They're not extremely useful as they're fake and will burst on contact, but if they're mixed in with the real caltrops then the amount looks a lot larger than it actually is!

We ran until fifty minutes were spend, a chasm appeared to our left which led to a river in the distance. It seemed like the logical route to take and therefore made for the perfect set-up. A large part of an escape is playing mind games, will we follow the logical path or take an alternative route? The good part of shadow clones is that they can make it look like we've used a few separate paths.

"Naruko, nine clones" tss ordering us around…

Naruko summoned nine clones and made them Henge so they had the same weight and prints as the original group.

"We're splitting up in four groups. Three groups will move in separate directions while our main group follows in the exact footprints of the one going down the chasm. We will split up at the cave in the distance and dig ourselves an escape with my earth manipulation. Clones, you will go on for one hour and set up traps wherever you can, make them a lot more elaborate than the ones before. We won't be giving you poison so use spikes and triggers instead."

"Hai!" the three groups of clones immediately did as were told and we followed suit in the footprints of the one going down the chasm. We reached the river and saw the cave in the distance about twenty metres to our right on the other side. We stopped on top of a large rock.

"Give us a hand, throw each of us towards the solid rock near the cave so we won't leave any footprints."

Newby was thrown first and landed right at the desired location. Though he did fall to the ground as he held his legs, I think he might've sprained something? Not that that's a problem.

Naruko was holding on to me and we gracefully landed next to Newby "You okay Yuuto?"

"Yeah… I sprained my ankle, it's not broken though." Good, that would've been a problem… although you would've deserved it.

"We're catching Hinata, we can't have her getting hurt as well. She will heal you in a bit"

Sure to her word we caught Stutter, who then proceeded to heal the Newby. After which we entered the cave while being careful not to cause any disturbances or leave an indication that we were here. The cave opened up in a few different directions which caused us to stop for a bit, which route to take?

"Hinata, can you tell which route is the best option?"

"No… they're really long. I can't see the end of them."

"Same here"

Naruko sighed "Give me a minute, I'll have to do this carefully so they won't notice." She tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra and grew slightly feral in appearance, her cat-ears grew a bit larger and she closed her eyes to listen more carefully to the surroundings.

"There's a source of water in the middle one, it's faint though. But it's our best bet, it could lead to a resting place."

Her appearance turned back to normal as he took charge yet again "We're going. Stick to the walls and ceiling of the cave so we have less chance of leaving prints." We ran up the walls and ran at top speed for well over an hour, damn this cave was long! The path was beautiful though, it wasn't just a barren cave but eventually opened up to a larger path that had a small ecosystem inside of it.

Some plants and bushes littered the floor and you could see the air becoming damp, the only reason could be a waterfall somewhere in the distance.

The path finally opened up to a large open cavern with a river running through. A deer was drinking from the river signalling that it was safe to drink from, it seemed like a good spot to rest.

"A-are we going to…kill it?" Stutter didn't seem to like the idea, come to think of it, these three have never killed before. At least Stutter and Naruko haven't, I don't know about Newby.

"Sorry Hinata, we need to eat something if we want to hold out…" although Naruko seemed equally reluctant, they're still far to innocent…

Newby however was clearly different "I'll do it" he went towards the deer and held out his hand in a friendly gesture. The deer began sniffing it, after a while he began stroking it and slowly walked away from the river. The poor deer followed and had no idea what was about to happen… Newby was smart, he didn't want to contaminate the water in any way.

Newby dug a small hole in the ground and led the deer towards it. He sat down to which the deer followed suit, he had a way with animals, it must be because of his connection to Nature. The animals sense that he's one with it just like they are.

A bit of sadness could be seen in his eyes, he struck the deer on its head to knock it unconscious. "I'm sorry" Afterwards he slit the throat and held it above the hole to make sure the blood wouldn't cover the floor or leave too much of a smell. Ten minutes later and the deer stopped bleeding, he covered the hole with earth.

"Naruko, Hinata gather some dry firewood. I'll prepare the meat." Poor Naruko and Stutter were slightly pale and simply nodded as they went on their way. Newby waited until they were gone and took out a knife that was obviously used often, it even had a slight red tint.

He cut apart the deer for any useful meat and laid them next to him. He took out a sealing scroll and sealed most of it away only leaving four pieces which could be easily cooked. His next action was far more interesting though, he carefully took apart the deer's bones and began sharpening them into spikes!

He didn't leave a single bone that could be used, even the small ones were taken and sharpened as he waited for Naruko and Stutter to return. He's really used to the life outside, having him will give us a big advantage.

"We're…back…" they slightly stopped mid-sentence when they saw the scene. Stutter even having to cover her mouth. "Don't throw up, I've avoided making any real scent spread so far." He's indeed far harsher and a lot less emotional than usual.

"Hn…" a meek nod was all the answer he was getting. They really have to get used to this. "Do you have the wood?"

"We do"

"Put it in a pile next to the waterfall, don't let it get wet by the splashing water. We want the scent to be weakened by the moisture in the air. Immediately start the fire and make it a bit bigger than usual."

They began the fire, the meat was roasting above it and we sat down for a well-deserved rest. "Yuuto…why did…why did you say sorry when you killed the deer?"

He sighed slightly and looked at us still with a lack of emotions, only sadness could be slightly seen in his eyes. "Because I find killing animals to be a sad part of life. I'll only kill one when I really need to, otherwise it's a crime against nature… people that kill animals without necessity are just beasts themselves."

"But aren't animals beasts as well?"

A bit of anger could be heard in his voice "No, only some. Humans however are mostly despicable. Tell me Naruko, you have the Kyuubi inside of you, did those villagers in your past seem human to you?" …he's right, they're far worse… it seems like he's had similar problems with humans if he thinks like this, and I agree with him.

Naruko slightly stuttered as she relived the trauma of her past "N-No…but…"

"No Naruko, there is no but… A beast is something that chooses to be vicious. Animals are sometimes born like that, it's in their nature, they are pure even if they are sometimes vicious with the rare exception… Humans however often choose to be vicious, they chose what they did, they're full of lies and deceit."

"I love animals, so I'll feel bad about killing them."

"…What about humans…killing them I mean…"

He had a debating look "I don't care about those unless they're pure hearted" so he dislikes humans that much, I wonder why he's even friendly with Naruko and the others… but this is his other personality talking, his normal one has more emotions. It seems like this one wasn't made purely by his contact with chakra, this one was made by a trauma, a very deep one at that…

"Why? They're also alive, killing is awful Dattebanya!"

"You're a shinobi, killing others is what we do. But we'll talk about this some other time, we don't have any time now."

Newby held out his hand to Naruko "Give me the bag and some senbon, I'm going to prepare them in advance." A nice way to divert the subject.

He took a few senbon and a tranquilizing poison to begin coating them. He laid them on a small piece of cloth to make sure they would stay good. "I'm going to trap the entrance, you can stay here and eat."

He got up and moved a metre away before suddenly striking one senbon in our direction!

"Got you, sensei."

Shady suddenly appeared where he struck the senbon and smiled "Indeed you did, how long did you know?"

"Since the start, I wasn't sure but I felt something a few times. We didn't sit next to the waterfall for the smell to dissipate, I did it to see where your breath would disturb the moisture in the air."

"Clever, I didn't think anything of it when you wanted to trap the entrance. I must say, you've done a good job so far with all the traps. The others won't be having it easy to catch up."

"You signalled them?"

He nodded and smiled yet again "Only the general direction." He took out a small vial himself and drank it "Well then, I'm out of the game. I will still be following you to judge your progress though. Also…can I have some meat?"

No you can't, it's ours!

So he'd been following us from the very start, not cool Shady… there goes our advantage. We'll have to move quickly in order to keep them from catching us, we've beaten one so far though thanks to Newby!

"Sure sensei, but we'll have to go soon or they'll catch up."

"No need, I'll signal them to wait for ten minutes. Perks of being the one with the seals, I'm not going to let them take that meat away from me…"

We sat down for food and slightly relaxed knowing we had a bit of time.

"So, sensei. Any advice?"

"Hm? Not really, you did well in making multiple trails and making traps with and without poison. There's no way of knowing which are poisoned and which aren't so they'll have to be careful with all of them. Your choice of going to the cave was a bit obvious though, even with the mind-games there was a high chance you would do this. Your best bet would've been to follow the river and not enter the cave."

"But aren't we too easily seen in that chasm?"

"Maybe, but there won't be anything holding you back while you run. It would increase your speed tremendously, if they made the wrong choice and entered the cave while you ran with the river then you would have gained a lot of time."

"What about our choice of going down this path? You couldn't have known we were going to choose this one, right?"

He shook his head "You're mistaken, we know this area a lot better than any of you. We know that Naruko is a jinchuriki and can heighten her hearing to find this waterfall, we also know where it leads to. An enemy pursuing you will almost always know the area better than you, keep that in mind."

Wait, did he say where it leads to? Which must mean… "Miauw"

"You want us to go back?"

"Miauw"

"He said where it leads to… you mean they're waiting for us!" a slight smirk came upon Shady's face which confirmed my suspicion "Miauw"

"Hinata, Naruko, check if there's any cave near ours. We're going to see if we can tunnel our way through!"

Thanks for the hint Shady, we would've been caught otherwise. Now to check what we're going to do from here on out.

"There's one connected to ours if we tunnel for about 7 metres. It's near the wall to our right"

Naruko summoned some clones "Tunnel to the other cave and lay some traps down. We're going back."

"Back? Why?" A confused Stutter didn't realise why… shame.

"They'll try and look for us if we take too long, digging would cost us way too much time to make it far, but they'll still want to check because it's the least obvious route we'll take. Instead we're going to go back and take one of the different paths. We'll have to hope that there's no-one waiting for us at that opening."

"Miauw"

"Good idea, Clone 1, use your camouflage and check if there's someone waiting for us. Dispel to report back. Go full speed!"

"Got it!"

"If there's someone waiting we'll storm right through them or incapacitate them with poison. Which types do we have left?"

Hinata checked the bag "Quite a few, tranquilizers five vials and sleeping powder two."

"We'll try and make the one waiting for us fall asleep, that is if there's someone waiting for us. Sleeping powder is odourless and colourless, even if it doesn't make him fall asleep he'll still be weakened."

"How do you know it's a he? What about Tou-sensei?"

"Nah, she'll want the best possible chance to grab my tail. She'll wait until we're tired, just like Baldy wants to see our progress as much as possible. So it'll be Seito for sure dattebanya!"

Which means we have a chance to beat him!

"We'll have to be serious when fighting him. Don't stall or try to enjoy yourself, go for the kill and finish him as quickly as possible before the others catch up." Woah, that's quite brutal to say as a kid!

"But… Yuuto"

Newby however shook his head "We can't give them an opening, we still have two and a half days to go after this… if we don't go all out from the start we'll lose on the first day" True enough…

The analytical Yuuto we've seen so far is indeed better at such situations although he's a bit rough around the edges. His lack of emotions is a bit concerning though… would he even care if someone got injured to accomplish something?

We ran back the way we came at a casual speed meanwhile preparing the bags of sleeping powder "My clone just dispelled, Seito-sensei's indeed waiting for us… but… he prepared a trap"

They're trapping us?! That's not the way it should be!

"What kind of trap Naruko?"

"There's lightning all over the cave, there's not even enough room to move… also sensei said Hi…"

That's it, I'm done with him… first he's a damn pervert and now he thinks he can toy with me?! "Miauw"

"Huh? Tora-chan?"

I've got this! "Miauw" leave this to me, I'll show him that he's messed with the wrong cat!

"You've got it? You mean…"

"Miauw" yep, good guess

"You're going to spring the trap for us, but Tora-chan, that'll hurt!"

I don't care! Stutter will heal me afterwards and Kami no that I'm going to let him continue antagonizing me!

"Okay…Hinata you can heal him afterwards. If Tora-chan is going to do that then I'll take it seriously as well, not trying to sound arrogant and all but please let me handle him"

Oh damn she's serious, she really does not like me getting hurt… fine with me. Naruko and Tora to the rescue!

"We should stick as a team, if we…"

"I'm sorry Yuuto but you'll only get in my way at the current level. Even Hinata isn't strong enough to support me yet… you'll see, just trust me." Her bad-ass form is nothing to scoff at indeed, this'll be fun, for us… not for the pervert.

We approached the opening in the cave with the pervert standing there in the distance smiling at us like he's nice and all… that smile's going to be gone soon…

"So many traps…" Stutter had her eyes on and apparently saw more than we anticipated, not that it mattered, yet it will hurt like a bitch but it's worth it.

Let's do this "Miauw" I jumped on Naruko's shoulder and prepared for what was to come, we casually walked towards him.

"You're finally here, didn't expect us to trap you, did you?" No we didn't… but it doesn't matter, you're royally screwed!

"Miauw" Hit me up!

Naruko let some lightning release from her shoulder and began coating me in a small layer of it, it hurt a bit and felt like a million bites over and over but that didn't matter. What mattered was the effect it had… Naruko, your turn "Miauw" I jumped from her shoulder onto the ground and waited for Naruko to finish preparations.

Five clones popped up next to her each with a small bag in their hands "Fuuton: Great Breakthrough!" a large cloud of sleeping gas filled the entire cave, why would we do this now you might ask? Wouldn't we be affected?

Pervert held his breath and grinned, he knew what we had in mind. Five clones, something Naruko shouldn't be able to handle with her shields unless…

All six Naruko grew feral, their tails and ears lengthened, sharp teeth formed, some fur on her arms and elongated whiskers and claws. But she wasn't done yet… a red chakra started leaking from each of them which only increased her catgirl like appearance, even the claws on her feet were now extremely sharp and she had the patented Cheshire cat grin on her face.

"Buddha's Protection" a shield formed around each of them and linked with the chakra, she's able to summon six tails so far but sadly her body could only handle one, so she chose to split up the six tails with clones! Six linked shields with a Bijuu's worth of chakra to spend, pervert's done for! The lightning traps were still a problem though, for her at least… for me they were a pain, literally…

I jumped towards the middle of the cave opening and spiked my chakra, the lightning on my fur reached outwards and triggered every trap in the entire cave. A massive torrent of lightning rushed towards me which would kill any normal person or cat…

All the lightning hit me and damn did it hurt! I was burned to a crisp and blackened instantly, my fur and flesh were burned right off and some limbs were destroyed… But I told you I was immortal, truly immortal…

The destroyed parts just reappeared as if nothing happened, you could also say they regenerated but it was at such a speed that it was truly insane. This only happened in life threatening damage, otherwise this healing factor didn't seem to care… I couldn't be permanently injured in any sort of way. It still hurt though!

I fell to the ground with burning pain all over and saw the shocked face of the pervert as he didn't anticipate this in any possible way. He even slightly gasped and breathed in a bit of the gas, this wouldn't take effect instantly but will dampen his strength over time.

Naruko instantly took this chance and flashed from her spot to attack the pervert, six massive red claws soared towards him from every side! The big problem with her using the Kyuubi's chakra is that her camouflage Jutsu isn't good enough yet to compensate for it, she's clearly visible… and by clearly I mean she's flashing all over the place and you have no idea where the Kami she is.

Her speed had increased Two-fold by the increased strength! But Pervert wasn't one of the Twelve for nothing, he was an elite…

The claws pierced his body only for it to turn into a sudden flash of lightning which shot towards all directions hoping that it would hit something. So he wasn't even there to begin with?

"Raiton: Spider Web" the entire ground got covered in a thick web of lightning "Raiton: Pillars of Lightning" which turned into thousands of thin spikes that shot up and covered the entire cave! Holy crap he's even stronger than I thought, this is some insane Raiton control!

All six Naruko's blocked the attack with their shields, once they were hit however all the other beams changed direction and instantly shot towards them! The shields continued blocking the attack until they were eventually each penetrated by a single beam… the beam latched on to each of the Naruko's? They didn't actually do any damage?

"Beacon placed" the remaining beams converged and turned into Pervert! He actually shortly turned into lightning himself! He grinned at Naruko "Now is where it gets interesting"

He held out his hands "Raiton: Lightning Bolts" and shot one from each of his fingers!

Naruko awakened from her short shock and flashed away continuously, the bolts however were somehow following her and changed direction again and again!

They're homing in on her, the Beacons placed on her made any attack made by him follow her… that's just cheating! "Miauw!"

"Got it!" she did as I commanded and began attacking him instead of continuing to dodge, dodging would have no use and would only take more energy… Attacking however gave him less chance to cause problems. I hope…

The six Naruko's took distance and aimed at Pervert "Raiton: Lightning Bolt" only for it to blow up right in their hands! "You thought it only attracted my lightning Jutsu? Still naïve Naruko-chan! Ah!" Stupid pervert, continue talking!

"Tss, my bad Dattebanya" Close combat it is "Miauw"

So no Paralysis claw or any other lightning Jutsu, that's kind of a weakness for her…but Wind chakra does beat Lightning chakra so that's fine…

"Raiton: Continuous Discharge" Crap…

Naruko's claws shot at him from a distance and continued to follow him as he moved due to the wind chakra used in them, just one hit was needed!

Pervert however continued to dodge them even if he didn't find it easy. No, it wasn't easy, he was slightly sweating and had a serious expression as he struggled not to breathe in the gas which as all around him.

Naruko had the advantage with her speed and Wind claws which come from a distance, Pervert however was no pushover… his mastery of lightning was superb. More and more lightning discharged from him and streaked towards the Narukos as they attacked him while dodging. She had to dodge more attacks by the second, ten lightning bolts still following her plus the discharge closing in, it was only a matter of time…

"Fuuton: Great Breakthrough!" which Naruko knew, she enclosed Pervert and fired a powerful gust of air from all sides leaving him with no place to escape. "Fuuton: Wind Barrier!" and tried blocking the inescapable lightning closing in with both of her barrier and shields.

A shield which divides the damage done to all other shields is just useless if you hit all of them at once… She decided to trade attacks and hope her shields would hold out until the sleeping gas takes effect. Once that happens we win!

"Raiton: Lightning Armour, Raiton: Lightning Balls"

Numerous balls of lightning began floating around the pervert as his body lit up with it as well. His lightning armour was so strong that it completely blocked the incoming bursts of air although with the price of him becoming slightly out of breath from the continuous fighting.

The balls of lightning shot towards every Naruko leaving her with little to no room to escape as she was finally able to shunshin away again. She dodges countless bolts and balls until finally "Raiton: Disperse, Lightning bolts"

Every ball of lightning split up into three separate bolts of lightning which shot towards each Naruko, leaving her with no room to escape… Even with her insane speed it's near impossible to dodge this much lightning, lightning is one of the fastest elements, if not the fastest after all…

Even with the Kyuubi's chakra strengthening her, the shields to protect her and Wind chakra cancelling the Lightning it wasn't enough… Pervert was an elite while Naruko was Low Jonin, maybe Mid Jonin with the Kyuubi's chakra added, that plus her lack in experience made far too large a difference.

"You lose Naruko-chan!" she fell to the ground with lightning still crackling around her and struggled to get up. Pervert walked up to her and helped her up with a smile "You've become better though."

The sick pervert, helping a little girl up after you've just beaten her down, disgusting especially with that sick smile of yours… if only I could get up and give him a good scratch between the legs…

He let down his lightning armour as he helped her… "Chakra Barrage" which opened up a chance for Newby to dishonestly shoot over a hundred chakra balls towards his back!

"That's not very nice Yuuto-kun"

"There's no nice in a fight Sensei" Newby forced him to dodge backwards as ball after ball nearly hit him when his defence was down "Welcoming Approach: Hundred Armed Kannon" which gave Stutter the opportunity to strike him from the back.

He dropped down straight away unable to move even a single muscle except for talking… "Not cool…"

"We win Dattebanya!" Barely though, you used six tails and we had to resort to dirty tactics in order to win, and this was the weakest of the ones after us!

"A splendid fight, great work on catching Seito off-guard you two" tss Baldy's here already? We're screwed… "You've gained one hour to escape. Good luck" if it weren't for that one rule which I totally didn't forget about.

Newby walked up to Naruko as she was laying on the floor "Naruko can you still move?" she struggled to get up as her wounds were almost already fully healed, the pain obviously still remaining as seen from her expression.

"Hn…but damn does it hurt Dattebanya! I lost! Aaarrgghh!" Which hurts, your injuries or your pride? "Miauw"

"Tora-chan! Ah, Tora-chan, you okay?!" finally they see me lying on the ground! Screw them, how could they not have noticed me being in agonizing pain?! Does being charred look freaking normal to you?!

"Hinata-chan can you heal her?" She'd better! Stutter walked up to me with a slight apologetic frown "Sorry Tora-chan" and began the healing…

Really, her healing was amazing, far better than that green chakra crap those medics use…I think… it's just sooo warm! It's like a nice warm blanket wraps up around you until you're back to normal, you'd almost want to get injured just to feel it, almost.

It took a few minutes until I was fully recovered and stood up, I saw Naruko had also recovered and walked up to her before jumping on her shoulder. I need rest… I might be immortal but it still takes a toll on me.

She gentle stroked my fur before Newby dared interrupt us as if we had something important to do…

"Good you're both up, we're leaving." And jumped away towards the cave's entrance as we followed suit. He's going to get it when we're done with this damn survival crap.

Wait, where are we actually going? I'm a tad sleepy… Ah, it's the river, why again?

"We're taking the most obvious route, we have less than an hour so keep up." The most obvious route, isn't that kind of stupid?

"Huh, why?"

"Because I have no idea what they're going to expect. We might as well take the quick road and hope for the best. Honestly, from the first half of the day I've come to a conclusion"

"We're basically done for. We can't win, only hold out for so long. Like Sensei said we have less experience with the area and far less experience with tactics and how to approach the situation. They'll catch up, it's only a matter of when."

So what're we going to do, it's just waiting for our loss

Stutter however was the obvious genius out of all of us, this time at least "H-How about…we dig a hole and just hide?"

We came to a sudden halt and just stared at her…freaking genius, why run when you can just hide in a deep ditch?!

"…Naruko, summon some clones and make them move in three groups. I'm going to dig a hole…" we're actually going to do this?!

"Are you serious?"

Newby shrugged "Might as well, nothing to lose, right?"

And that was just what we did…Newby dug a small hole that became quite deep before we entered. He covered the top with earth "Hinata could you give us some light?" to which she provided that.

"Isn't it kinda obvious you've dug a hole here? I mean the earth is disturbed, right?"

"I tried to make it look normal so it's our best bet." He continued digging and I began thinking about the miraculous thing that is Jutsu… where is all that earth vanishing to?! He's been digging and the earth is just vanishing, it's not above us that's for sure!

Especially after what seemed like an hour, he somehow made a damn hole in the ground that was a few metres wide! "I think we're safe here, they shouldn't be able to sense us here. Right, sensei?"

Nobody?! No-one is even suspicious how in Kami's name that worked?! Come to think of it, how do most Jutsu even work as they do?

Shady appeared which I couldn't care less about just about now "…I guess so, who in their right mind makes a ten-metre-deep hole during an escape…" freaking right!

"So we're in the clear, we could just stay here for the remainder of our time then?"

Not gonna happen! Plus there's the fact about needing air, it's kind of important you know?

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan's right, we need air… how about we wait for a few hours and then go back to the cave? Just hang out there and hope they won't return. Maybe set up an insane amount of traps in case they do, you said they would find us anyway so why not try to win with a trap?"

So no running, lots of naps and a nice waterfall to relax next to with a fire. Done, I'm in.

A couple of hours later, at least I think so… kind of hard to make out the time when you're underground… we hadn't been found yet as Baldy and the other useless piece of air weren't here. It seemed that digging a hole was indeed such a ludicrous idea that they didn't even think about it, stutter did though, does that make her a genius or a dumbass?

We dug back up and found the sky to be pitch black, it was night time, we'd been in a hole for that long?! Carefully making our way back towards the cave we didn't notice anything off, no Baldy or Bitch to be seen anywhere, good so far.

The same went for the cave, we entered, saw the wreckage of the previous battle and just went on towards the waterfall. We arrived at our destination and saw that the fire had been used by someone other than us, it was out but still slightly smouldering even with the waterfall nearby.

"We just missed them? Luckyyy Dattebanya!" maybe it had something to do with her luck or maybe not, I didn't care…

"Ssshh be quiet Naruko, if they just left it means they might still be around, let's just be quiet and hang out in silence for a while."

And that's what we did for one whole boring hour, at least I think it was an hour… night time and all… wait just a damn minute why hasn't anybody ever made a damn clock seal yet?! We have Jutsu that make stuff mysteriously disappear, you're able to shoot freaking fire and tornado's but we have no way to tell the time in such a situation?! Messed up… so messed up…

After the hour we finally decided to begin a fire, Newby decided to place the fire at a new location. One where the light it produced wouldn't illuminate the cavern enough to signal we were here. We checked from every entrance and found out that it was near impossible to notice, but just in case we still made some earth walls…

And by 'we' I mean Newby because screw him.

Shady being our teacher sat down next to us without any camouflage and just lightly laughed "They're running around like headless chicken and you're all just chilling next to a fire, priceless!"

"Sensei?"

"Perks of having the seals, shouldn't have said that though. Ah well, let's feast!" he opened a scroll with all sorts of food and didn't seem to care about the survival part of the mission. They still had to be warmed up though but he'd won points in my book. He's passable, even if barely.

We, and I mean I, gorged ourselves with food until we couldn't move any longer and damn did I deserve that after my electrocution! We had a small conversation about what to do from now on and decided on one simple plan…

Trap the everliving shit out of this cavern. And I mean serious traps, not even a small spot would be left untouched and Newby wanted to make all of them potentially deadly… he's still messed up in the head if you ask me, that second personality of him seems to only have a few things.

Rational thinking, planning and being calculating with actions. Which basically meant fight or flight to the extreme and last but not least the negative emotions like anger and sadness. Although his other personality also has sadness but a lot less, it seems things like these trigger the switch. At least that's what he's saying… yep, this side actually knows he has a split personality.

"So… Yuuto, how come you're so different dattebanya?"

"Hm? I thought we told you already, I have a split personality"

"…for real? You mean the you now isn't Yuuto?"

He shook his head though "We're both Yuuto. It's just that I control all the rational thinking and stressful situations, while the other is the wimp that acts like a shy baby."

"So you're the dick Yuuto?" yep!

"You could say that" Ah fack off you're not even mad at her calling you a dick? "Although I prefer you call me the rational one. But I'm still Yuuto, it's just that I know the other Yuuto exists, while he doesn't know about me."

Shady was closely listening in as well as this was his student, the one he wanted personally train a lot "And why are you telling us this? I seem to remember you hating humans, that's something I wouldn't have expected with you wanting to become Hokage and all"

Newby shrugged "Because I accept that I'm stuck with you. That and the fact that all of you are obviously damaged goods just like me, especially you Naruko. I'm kind of curious why you've not come to hate humanity though as our pasts are similar, how is it that one such as you can be so upbeat?"

"…similar past? You mean…the villagers they?"

"Beat me up each and every day after they were done with you. That is until a certain event happened"

Now this was getting just wrong, I understand Naruko even if those villagers were maniacs, but I could still understand… but him? What'd he do?

"Not to mention that I don't have your ridiculous healing factor, why'd you think I moved to the forest. It wasn't because I liked it there more that's for sure, at first though. Now it's my home and it will always stay like that."

Shady took over the questioning as he wanted to know more "So your split personality wasn't because of your chakra. Tell me, what was the reason?"

The look in Newby's eyes grew all the more serious and I could feel the hate and intent to kill radiate from him. He took off his shirt and even I gasped in horror at the sight, brutal scars and a deformed torso and back, it was so horrible, even someone used to the most brutal wars wouldn't have this!

"Because those mongrels one day decided to torture me for fun! They cut me apart and left me to die in the fucking forest because of something that isn't even my fault!

"Which is?"

"Tss you really can't stop asking, can you? Fine, you know that in the last war there were plenty of prisoners taken that were never returned. Guess which ones are the most hated in Konoha?"

"Iwa… you can't be serious, they did that to you because one of your parents is from Iwa?!" Holy shit, I knew those villagers were scum, but this? They're just taking their hate out on a kid!

Newby nodded "Because one of the scum shinobi that took care of the captives raped my mother, killed her after she gave birth to me and finally dumped me into the orphanage claiming that I was an orphan… and guess what my precious father did afterwards? He gave me these scars as a final reminder while he told me the fun story"

Shady and the others, including me radiated killing intent at this point as we heard his tale, no wonder Newby was fucked up! No wonder he has two personalities, his childhood was even worse than Naruko's!

"He got locked up, didn't he?!"

"Nope, the lovely council decided that almost murdering an Iwa orphan isn't a crime. He got a light slap on the hand and that's it"

"Then why do you want to become Hokage?! You really want to help that scum village dattebanya?!" even Naruko seems to have come to hate the village somewhat which is amazing as she is forgiveness itself…

"So I can execute the entire damn council."

"…And if you can't become Hokage?"

He smirked "Then I guess Konoha may have to disappear of the map?" hot damn he's actually serious… that's just capital treason thinking right there, and he's saying it next to one of the Twelve!

Shady however didn't seem to mind? He even gave him a slight hug of sorts, you know one that guys do to each other. No, Shady didn't mind at all and neither did I after what they did to Naruko and Stutter.

The conversation slowly died out after the less than pleasant topic as we went to get some sleep. I'm sure both Naruko and Stutter have much to think about… especially Stutter, she still loved the village somewhat, I imagine this team isn't going to stay friendly to its home…

We woke up at the start of the second day, light filled the cavern and Baldy or Bitch still weren't in sight. Lucky us, we began our plan of trapping the crap out of this cavern! Naruko summoned clones and gathered a bunch of wood, Newby made spikes everywhere except for one small trail which we could still use to move and Stutter shaped the wood into numerous traps.

We had time so we could make them a little more intricate than the usual caltrop or spike… lucky for us that Naruko loves traps. Some of them were downright brutal though, such as the spike trap inside small holes that were covered up with a layer of dirt, one wrong step and your foot had spikes all in it, just nasty… Just like the Bitch said, the most effective traps are often the simplest. The worst though was still made by Newby.

"Naruko, Hinata, do either of you have explosive tags?" they were used often even as Genin so the answers was obviously yes.

"A few? Isn't that a bit too lethal… I mean that could really hurt them, right?" Depends on how you use them?

"I'm going to put them in small holes and cover them up again, so it won't kill, maybe hurt them quite a bit but that's about it. They're Elite Jonin, they'll be fine"

"Then how're you going to trigger them, don't they need chakra in order to light?"

Aaaaah I get it! He can put chakra into the ground with his nature manipulation, he can make them explode from a distance!

The amount of traps grew numerous, simple spikes sticking out of the ground either made of earth or wood. Senbon that would shoot from the air when some of the traps were triggered, explosive tags that would cause a rockfall and many more. The most genius part? They were interlinked, if a particular one was triggered then all others that could shoot would as well, leaving no room to escape! At least that was the idea.

Even if they failed there were still many pitfall traps with spikes everywhere so yeah, it was pretty much messed up. Then there was the final fortress, we actually made a small stone fortress out of stone walls from which we could shoot attacks at anyone trying to pass the traps. It wasn't grand and glorious, but it would suffice, it was actually quite cosy with a fire to keep us warm and some blankets to hang out!

Now we just had to wait…

"They're in sight! Yuuto-kun, get some blue balls!" pfft okay she did that on purpose, how can you not slightly laugh at that.

"…I'll act as if I didn't hear that" he did prepare them though.

"They don't seem to know we're here, they're walking casually as if they're tired of searching"

Newby smirked "Even better, let's try and surprise them. Although… does anyone know some basic Genjutsu to place over the cavern?"

Nope… "Senseeeiiiii" cute cat eyes could work though…

"Ah screw it, I'm up for it… see it as convincing your enemy to switch sides with food, which is also a tactic" No it isn't, you brought the food… he placed the Genjutsu though which made everything seem just about normal, traps and Genjutsu make a nasty pair!

"Target Chiriku-sensei, I've got a plan for her in case she manages to get close"

We didn't have to wait long until they arrived obviously not suspecting anything by the way they acted, one of them being extremely agitated by the other's constant bitching.

"Where are those fucking brats! I want the tail damnit we've been looking for more than a day! They can't be that good, it's like they freaking vanished!" Click and Boom!

The entire ground underneath them exploded into shards that shot towards them, meanwhile triggering all the other traps as a multitude of senbon and spikes shot towards them from all directions!

"Buddha's Protection!" Baldy tried protecting the two of them until a few beads purple beads exploded against the shield making a poison haze cover the area around them. They were forced to move and block any incoming projectile as they began struggling with all the traps littering the ground trying to trip them tangle up their feet, more like impale but okay…

"Fucking brats! I'm going to get you for this! Naruko, get your tail over here! Your ass belongs to me!" She tried jumping towards us and Newby began firing his blue balls towards her, she'd gone mad however and either ignored them, destroyed them or dodged them as well as the traps on the ground didn't seem to affect her in her rage.

"Let her go, focus on Sensei first!" we shot every attack we had at Baldy… the amount of attacks was just unreal with a whole day's of preparation we had, he was pretty much screwed as the poisoned attacks piled up and slowly managed to penetrate his defences. He just couldn't get close, every time he had some footing the ground underneath it exploded and made him stumble, it seemed like we were winning!

Bitch however was closing in fast! Naruko acted as if she wasn't there and continued to attack Baldy, but she said she had a plan so I'm not worried, Naruko with a plan should be fine… although she lost earlier but hey, this is different… I think?

Naruko grinned as she noticed Bitch appearing behind her with a grin on her face ready to pounce at the prized tail. She acted surprised and caught off-guard as the latter went to grab it…

A large burst of lightning flashed as Bitch screamed in utter pain! She'd grabbed the tail! But apparently Naruko'd been charging it with so much lightning chakra that it was just a death-trap, it was obvious she would go for the tail, so why not let her and get rid of her?

Bitch was lying on the ground, twitching and burned black as he still tried holding on to the precious tail only for it to escape her grasp, victory! I did give her a scratch though as a reminder not to mess with my property, even if we were kind of busy with Baldy I still had time for that, obviously…

Baldy was breathing raggedly as the numerous small wounds piled up. The dust settled and attacks stopped as we looked at him with a grin, he didn't really seem entertained though.

"Kazuma you helped them!"

"That I did! They bribed me, that's also part of the shinobi life Chiriku!" You just wanted to see him get beaten, didn't you?

He suddenly burst with red energy as thousands of arms together with an extremely angry face that screamed murder appeared behind him "Then I won't hold back, get ready! Kannon's Rage: Infinite Armed Murder!" Wait what?! Since when was that a thing?!

Even Shady began sweating slightly as a red hot angry Baldy slowly walked our way, we resumed our assault but his fists just shot anything back at us! He just wasn't stoppable, this was madness!

He approached us "Miauw"

"Wait, sensei! We have one hour! Wait!"

"Oh no you don't, just wait there to get your ass beaten you brats! You make me run around the entire forest with that cranky annoying woman while you're sitting here relaxing with food and comfort?!" Yep he was pissed off… "You're all dead, every last one of you!" Spoken like a true monk…

Let's just skip over the rest shall we? He got to us, Naruko initiated her six separate tailed form, tried to assault him from every side and made some new craters in the cavern walls…with her body being the projectile… we shot all we could at him and still got our asses handed to us as the shots were reflected by his fists and last but not least Stutter tried her own version on him hoping she couldn't be hurt by Baldy's attack…

Which was kind of true, except for the part where he used his own arms as well and slapped her to the side, he seemed to have forgotten about me though so hooray?

And this ladies and gentlemen is the difference between A-rank and S-rank… one is strong while the other is just brutal, the difference is immense.

I tried to casually sneak away hoping that he wouldn't pay attention "Oh no you don't! Don't think you're getting away, if it wasn't for the Madam I would've skinned you alive! Therefore, the only suitable replacement is…"

He just didn't! The fucker, how dare he do this humiliation to me! It was indeed the dreaded Cone of Shame… the worst thing imaginable, I'd rather be skinned alive than suffer through this! Luckily no-one else was conscious to pay attention to it, for now…

* * *

 **I hope the chapter was okay-ish… the part with Yuuto's background may have been a bit rushed but I thought it would be better to do it earlier than later. A large part of his past is still not revealed though, but now you at least have a bit of an idea what he'll be like and how he'll change the team for the best… or worst. But yep what do you expect if you just about torture both Naruko and another child, they're gonna be pissed off… Hopefully you've seen that an Elite Jonin isn't weak, even with sleeping gas he destroyed Naruko in her tailed form.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. I don't really have anything I really want at the moment though… maybe some more sleep? I hope you like the chapter, have fun and if you spot any mistakes then feel free to notify me.**

* * *

Take of this blasted Cone! It's been a whole week already, if they don't remove it soon I'll make sure they can't go to the toilet ever again!

"Tora-chan!" Don't 'chan' me! You're in on this Naruko, lest you forget that you haven't removed it from me either! Is this payback for the times I laughed at your misfortune? Because okay I would kind of deserve that but still…

"We're going to Konoha, want to come?"

It's been a week, we've had lots of conversations about the travesties that the disgusting village performed. And yet they still want to go… apparently it's a love hate relationship, for Naruko and Stutter at least. Newby? No, he couldn't care less if it burned to the ground.

"Miauw" do tell me why I would tag along…

"Because the Hokage needs you for a mission! And we're kind of tagging along… Chiriku-sensei also said he would take off the cone…"

Mission? Me? Oldy knows my greatness! And hallelujah it comes with the added benefit of my freedom!

"Here's the letter Dattebanya!"

Well then, I'll just graciously read it to see what's it about, it must be some high ranked important mission if he needs me specifically…

 _Dear Naruko ( And Tora-san )_ And we're off to a bad start, it should be the other way around obviously!

 _Due to the lack of the 'Catch Tora the cat mission' there's been a sharp decline in the ability of Genin when it comes to tracking. Over the last few years this has become more noticeable, we however have yet to find a way to compensate for Tora's skill in the matter. We simply can't afford to make higher ranked Shinobi train all our fresh Genin in tracking._

 _Therefore, we would like to commission Tora over the coming year for two to three 'Catch Tora the cat' missions each week. You will be given D-rank compensation plus one Tora special at Ichiraku's each time. You are also free to act as you see fit, if you deem that the Genin aren't up to your standard then you are allowed to make them fail the mission, lest you give them enough experience before you do so._

 _I hope to hear from you soon, drop by my office when you have an answer ready._

 _Hiruzen Sarutobi, Hokage of Konohamaru_

Free reign to bully brats and I get money, the cone removed plus food for it?! Count me in! Even if it's all the way in that crappy village I still miss that hobby of mine… at least I can now keep an eye on Naruko and Stutter when they go there.

Let's just try it out? "Miauw"

"You're going to do it?! Yata!"

* * *

( Konoha )

"We're here to see the Hokage, he asked for us!"

"Tss, and who are you? Why would Hokage-sama expect a bunch of Genin brats?"

"What?! You're hardly older than us!" Yep, some upstart brat was blocking our path, a girl with a stuck-up face acting all high and mighty… but not for long…

"Don't talk to me like that! I'm the secretary and a Chuunin, you're just some No-name Genin, respect your superior or I'll remove you!"

"But we have this letter Dattebanya!"

"But you don't have an appointment so beat it"

"Just read the last bit, it says we could come whenever we want!"

The brat smirked "I'm not authorized to read his letters so I wouldn't know, I do have a spot open for an appointment in two weeks though"

Okay that's it, I'm done! "Miauw"

"Gladly!" Naruko stormed past the brat "Don't you dare you filth!" to which she tried to stop her by force. Naruko slammed her arm against her chest, the brat shot towards the nearby wall and slumped to the ground "Guards, get her!"… she really thought she had power, a pathetic secretary thinks she can command Anbu…

Nobody stopped us any further as we went into the office "Old man, we're here!"

Oldy's head shot up as he quickly hid an orange book…porn, couldn't be anything else… with a red face acting as if he wasn't just caught. "Naruko! Knock before you enter!"

"Sure sure, could you first fire that waste of space lying against the wall? She tried to stop us even when we told her you called for us"

"Did she now? What's with all those new Chuunin brats thinking they're high and mighty just because they become my secretary… It's been four in two months now…" Maybe there's a problem with how everybody raises their children nowadays? No respect whatsoever…

"Was she really a Chuunin?! She couldn't even take one hit Dattebanya!"

He sighed "Naruko we both know you aren't an average Genin, let's take care of her first though" Oldy called for an Anbu to remove the brat "Now tell me, did you come with an answer to my request?"

"Indeed we did! But we've come to negotiate the terms first" Wait, we didn't talk about that? There wasn't a problem as far as I know.

"And what makes you think we can negotiate with the terms? Keep in mind that it's a D-rank request Naruko"

A grin sprouted on her face "Because you're desperate, and it's not a negotiation indeed, it's more of an ultimatum. Either you accept or we leave."

"… I'm listening"

"We want two Tora and Naruko specials each time plus five cinnamon buns." I'm liking the terms, how didn't I think about that!

"How often will you be available?"

"Tora-chan?" Hmm, that's a tough one, I like my time to relax in the palace, but I do miss that hobby of mine… plus it's free food… two times? Maybe three if I'm feeling generous? "Miauw"

"Two to three times, you'll also have to put each mission on our team's record"

"Done, your first mission starts today. Tora-san feel free to 'escape' please as I bring in your victims" Already?! Oooh I can only have a good feeling about this!

I jumped through the window and stuck to the wall outside wanting to know who was going to enter…

"Kano bring in team Kakashi"

"…Kano?"

"Kano!"

"Uhm… you fired her"

"Oh right! If you wouldn't mind Naruko, could you bring Kakashi here for me?"

"Spiky grey hair with an eyepatch, right?"

"That one, tell him that if he's late I will ban the sale of his literature to him for a whole month"

"Will do!" She stormed out of the same window "See you in a bit Tora-chan!" as she waved me goodbye.

* * *

( Team Kakashi )

Naruko neared training ground 7 soon after as she felt Kakashi's chakra signature. She appeared on top of a tree branch and sat next to the grey spiky haired Jonin as he smiled lecherously reading from an orange book…

"Kakashi, right?"

"Shh I'm nearing the good part, be quiet for a bit"

"…Shouldn't you be training your team? They're waiting a bit in the distance I think?"

"…Do you have any idea who's in my team? I have to read for a bit or I'll get a migraine right in the morning! I've got a pompous emo, a horndog puppy that thinks he's all that great and a fangirl… Now be quiet, I still have half an hour left!"

"You know it's 10:30, right?"

He turned his head with a smirk "I do"

"And how late did you make them arrive?"

"Two and a half hours ago"

"Shame I have to ruin your fun… the Hokage told me to get you. He said something about banning you from buying literature for a month if you didn't show up right away?"

Kakashi suddenly turned pale "I'll be there in five minutes, do you happen to know what for?"

A smirk was her response "Catch Tora the cat"

"Well that changes everything!" he put away his book and jumped towards his group of brats "Yo"

* * *

( Hokage Tower )

Naruko jumped through the window only a few minutes after she'd left "I'm back!"

"Ah welcome back Naruko, that took you shorter than expected. I guess Kakashi wasn't as troublesome as usual?"

"Nope! He seemed excited when I mentioned the mission!"

Hiruzen lit up his pipe with a smile "He did say he had some trouble with his brats. You know what to do, right Tora-san?"

"Miauw" Who's his team?

"Emo, Dogbreath and some fangirl"

Ooooh they're done for, this is gonna be good! No way that they're going to pass the mission… Especially Emo, he's done for

"Naruko, Hinata, you two can wait in the back room for a few minutes, we don't want them to see you. Help yourselves to some tea and biscuits on the table"

We waited for them to arrive for a couple of minutes, soon a knock was heard on the door to which the person opened it without even waiting for an answer.

"Yo" with an orange book in his hand and the other up as a gesture of hello Spiky walked in without a care in the world. How could I see this you might ask? The wonders of peeking through the window…

"Ah Kakashi, you're here early for once." He looked at the brats "So this is your team, very well. I have a mission for them, a very important one at that"

A smug grin formed on Emo and Dogbreath's face "Finally I get a mission worthy of my greatness, right Akamaru?!"

"Yip!"

"Tss, as if the dead last would be needed, he obviously needs an Uchiha"

"What did you say, want me to kick your ass?!" oh great, two weaklings trying to compete with each other… why is it always the weaklings with the big mouth? I'll show them that they're both worthless!

A black aura began surrounding the Emo confirming my suspicions even more, he's indeed learned a dark technique… but which? And why would Konoha keep one of them on a scroll, they're usually destroyed because of their nature…

"Silence, the both of you!"

They stood up straight at the sudden killing intent radiated at them "I will not stand for such behaviour in my office, it's enough that I let Kakashi come late. But that's only because of his taste in literature, which you should not read at such a time" he arched his eyebrow with a fake threatening expression

Spiky put away the smut "How about our literature discussion?"

"At the usual time. Now for your mission… Tora the Daimyo's cat has escaped yet again, she's been inactive for the last few years for unknown reason but has begun escaping yet again. Your task is to capture her without harm and bring her to me, if you fail to do so then we may invoke the anger of the Daimyo. Do not harm her, do you understand?"

"We're chasing a cat?!" Dogbreath couldn't keep his stinking mouth shut though

"Yes you are, or do you want me to revoke your Genin rank? Do you have trouble understanding orders, Genin?"

"…No sir"

"Kakashi, your team has five hours. A word of warning though, Tora has become trickier than before" Damn right!

Spiky's eyes met mine for a split second, he however gave no mention of this to his team knowing the torture they were in for

"No worries I'll be fine, let's go team" he walked out the door and grabbed his book right as his foot left the room, dedication I'll give him that

I entered the office through the window just as Naruko and Stutter did the same, Oldy puffed his pipe with a smile "This is going to be fun, could you do one more thing for me Tora?"

"Miauw?"

"Take the Uchiha's arrogance down a notch, just no permanent injuries" …Gladly

"No fair I want to have some fun too Dattebanya!"

"You've trained in the camouflage technique correct?"

"Yep?"

"Then I wouldn't count out some sabotage, it does happen a lot in real missions after all"

"Okay! Tora, do you think they know how to walk on walls yet? They should, right?"

I actually think Lazy hasn't even tried teaching them it yet, they're a bunch of brats after all and he's skipping the teaching. Let's find out? "Miauw"

"Want to play some cards on the side of the Hokage monument? It'll be fun if they can't walk up!"

Tempting but not yet, maybe later when I'm getting bored "Miauw"

"Okay, let's have some fun first then!"

* * *

( Some moments later )

The first thing you do in a good chase is be the chaser, look at their patterns and weaknesses. Find out what you can do to annoy them, such as what I'm doing right now…

"Where is that damn cat?! I can smell her somewhere here!" Indeed you have, it's just that you thought you were tracking me but instead it was I that was making circles around you

"You've been saying that for the last twenty minutes! Are you sure you're not smelling yourself? I'm sure I can smell you from a block away"

Wait… who's this new girl, wasn't she some kind of fangirl? So far she seems decent though, her remarks are on the point so far

"What did you say Sara?! Go back to your dream boy you bitch!"

"Hell no! I'd rather die than touch that crying momma's boy!"

"Tss big words from a whore"

This doesn't seem like a fangirl at all… she's rather the opposite, I like her disgust of Emo though, she seems nice. Emo and Dogbreath didn't agree though, maybe because she wasn't stroking their ego, both wanted to cut her down, literally… they had kunai drawn and the former reeked of murderous intent, the comment about his mother not to his liking?

Maybe I'll help her a bit…

"That's enough the three of you, Kami why did I have to get this team… focus on your mission"

"I am! But I can't find the damn cat, I can smell her stench as if she's right next to me!"

…are you saying I smell? Me?!

"Miauw…"

I scared the shit out of him as I was indeed right next to him, his pathetic puppy dared to growl at me… I slapped the mongrel into the wall with a flick of my tail before going to the main dish

"Akamaru!"

Jumping up I reached the brats nose and with a swipe of my magnificent paw gave a clean set of cuts on his nose… nothing permanent sadly but enough to hurt for quite a while, if you can't appreciate my smell than I'd rather you not smell anything at all!

He screamed in blissful agony as I landed on the ground, infused some chakra into my front paws and swept his feat underneath him, he fell to the ground with a thud as his hands held his bleeding nose

One down, one to go…

"Deadlast taken out by a pathetic cat" now it's time to take you down a notch, again…

Emo tried grabbing me with his disgusting hands, as if I'd let him! I readied my claws and cut up his arm before slamming him into the nearby wall as well. But not enough to keep him down, no, I was going to make this last, just enough for him to come back at me again and again!

"You! How dare you, you fat piece of shit!"

The trash had already forgotten his orders as he grabbed a kunai and went at me, as if he stood a chance… no way in hell that he could even touch me. I infused my claws with some chakra, did a shunshin to get right next to him and sliced his remaining good arm. Coming at me with intent to kill, you sick piece of trash!

He cried out in pain as I continued my punishment, jumping all over him and marking him with fresh wounds. His clothes destroyed, chest in blood and claw marks all over his body…

"Sharingan!" he re-opened his eyes as they were now blood red with three tomoe in each of them, how'd he managed to evolve them that quickly?! Wait… the Uchiha evolve their bloodline with killing and negative emotions, maybe it's linked to dark chakra!

As soon as he activated his eyes he began leaking a dark fog indicating that they were probably indeed linked in some way. What did he get from the forbidden scroll, why was there a technique on there that links with the Uchiha bloodline?!

"Corrode: Great Fireball!"

A disgusting black fireball shot from his mouth, I narrowly managed to dodge it from the close distance. I watched as the black flame touched the nearby walls only for them to dissolve into a black sludge straight away. This… I know what this is…

The most disgusting and repulsive technique of the dark element, the corrosive attribute. It isn't as much a technique as much as it is a passive effect that's ingrained into you, although at a serious cost…

Just as the name implies it's corrosive, so much that it even affects the user. But not physically, no, it works mentally. The reason why this specific part of the dark element was pretty much sealed was because everyone that used it became murderous, after a while they only cared about murder and nothing else, it became their life. Even users of the dark chakra found this attribute to be repulsive and that's saying a lot!

And then there's this little shit, someone that already only cared about killing his brother, it's the perfect fit… Maybe I should just kill him here, it would do the world a favour, or better yet

I appeared in front of the brat and went for his eyes, maybe him being blind would shut him up! He may have a powerful chakra and bloodline but he's still a Genin, the claw neared his right eye before I was suddenly thrown to the side! I looked back in disgust and saw Spiky where I just was "I'm sorry Tora, but I can't let you do that"

He'd knocked the brat on the ground "As for you Sasuke, I thought you were told never to use that in the city? I think a trip to the Hokage would suit you well"

Tss, as if that's enough, we should just be rid of him just to be safe. He may not be a threat now, but in the future he will be… I don't care about the village at all, but he won't stop here when he's gone mad!

But… I'm not done with having fun even if he's a disgusting brat… Glaring at Spiky didn't help in the slightest though

"I'm sorry Tora but you've beaten my team, Kiba's going to have to go to the hospital, same for Sasuke after the Hokage's done with him. Sara however is still fine but she shouldn't stand a chance

"Miauw" Nah I'm fine with her, I'll give her a test. I walked in front of the brat and grinned, let's see if she gets the idea

A minute later though and still nothing… apparently not… "Tora-chan wants to test you" Naruko appeared from next to me as she let the camouflage drop. Even Spiky seemed slightly surprised by her skill with it, the brat just gasped in disbelief

"She wants to what?"

"Test you! Show Tora-chan what you got Dattebanya!"

"Here?"

…Duh, cmon brat this is taking long enough. I'll begin, I adjusted my speed to Genin level and jumped at her, claw at the ready. She barely dodged and tried to retaliate with a punch. I grabbed the arm with one paw and used it to adjust my movement in the air until I stood on top of her outstretched arm.

She tried to shake me off in panic as I went to paw her face, without claws of course as I'm nice. She barely managed to block with her other hand, the force of my paw against her hand made her own hand punch her face… that's just sad, could have just not blocked instead

Jumping to the ground I did the same as I did to Dogbreath, I swiped her feet from underneath her to which she fell to the ground. She slightly groaned in pain but got up nonetheless with determination in her eyes. No insults or anything, just determination.

She went for the attack and tried to kick me, I jumped out of the way and saw another kick coming for me from that direction, she anticipated the action apparently. But she's not used to fighting a cat, who is though… I landed on her leg and used it as leverage to cannonball myself into her chest…

She fell and got up yet again. The struggle continued as she tried attacking me without success, each time I dodged her attack or used it in my own. I saw it frustrated her but once again she didn't give any remarks and just tried her best, I could appreciate that attitude, not many brats that spoke with actions instead of words

Fifteen minutes of toying with her later and she fell to the ground in exhaustion, she'd managed to hold on for that long! I couldn't even count the amount of times she fell to the ground only to get back up, it's quite an achievement in all honesty

She began lightly crying "I'm useless, no matter how much I try… I'm useless!"

But I disagree, you may not be skilled but that attitude makes up for it. You just need a good teacher… oh damn she's got Lazy over there, she's screwed!

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan?"

"Miauw"

"You want her to take you to the old man?" She deserves it at this point, a lot more than the two other brats. But I have something to discuss with the old man "Miauw"

"Sure, I'll come with you and talk to him for you!"

I let the crying brat pick me up out of generosity, it made her stop crying as she looked at me with confused eyes. "Tora-chan wants me to take you to the old man, you coming Kakashi?"

"Old man?" "Kakashi?"

"The Hokage, and yes just Kakashi without the san, not with those books you're reading Dattebanya"

"…You know of them?"

"I burned my dad's collection" Spiky began sweating and quickly took us back to the office, he dragged the disgusting brat with him and sent the other one to the hospital.

A few minutes and a knock on the door later and we were back… "Ah you've returned, I must say this was a lot quicker than expected"

He was drinking tea with Stutter?! Now's not the time for that Tora, you have more important things to do…

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan wants you to punish the Emo"

Oldy lifted his brow "Kakashi, what's the meaning of this? I thought I was clear"

"You were, but Sasuke used his Sharingan and his… skill… on Tora, or at least tried to. He did so in an alley where civilians could walk in any minute and destroyed several walls in the process."

A short drag of his pipe late the oldy sighed "Very well, send him to Ibiki. His wounds aren't threatening, let him keep the scars as a reminder" I sensed this was going to give him a lot of annoyance, but I appreciated the slight gesture he did, it wasn't enough of a punishment but it was something…

An Anbu appeared next to Emo and dragged him away, he struggled at first but was knocked unconscious to make the process easier

"I have the feeling this isn't all, tell me"

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan says Sara completed the mission, but only her. She doesn't want the other two to get a reward"

Oldy smiled "That can be arranged, congratulations on a job well done Sara."

"But Hokage-sama, I failed! I couldn't even touch her!"

"Oh? But Tora-san thinks you deserve this, there must be a reason"

There is, but most of it has to do with Spiky over there "Miauw"

"Tora-chan said her determination was really good! But she lacks skill, as if someone never bothered to train her…"

A bit of killing intent was radiated towards Spiky as he tried to look away "Kakashi… is this true?"

"Maybe… But these brats are hopeless. One is stuck on revenge and has a massive stick up is ass, the other is an arrogant brat that thinks he's all that hot and last of all there's… there's… a girl that…"

"You didn't bother to take your time with her, did you? As the others were already next to useless"

Spiky did something rare and gave a slight bow to the girl "I'm sorry Sara, I thought you were another useless fangirl, but today proved otherwise"

"Good god you made him apologize!" Oldy was dumbstruck "Sara, if you teach me how to do that then I'll personally train you!"

"Miauw"

"Tora-chan wants Kakashi to train Sara properly and I agree. You never show up on time anyway because you hate your team, why not use that time to train her? You're going to show up late anyway…"

"It's not only because of that"

"I know Kakashi, but you shouldn't let your past hamper her growth. You've taken the roll as their Sensei and you should do as you've agreed upon. Train her seriously from now on, I don't care about the other two until they change their attitude, but you shouldn't waste an attitude that even Tora-san agrees with" damn right, I may be biased because she hates Emo though, but still!

"…Fine, but I'm going to ask Guy to help in her training…"

"You're not serious, are you?"

"Oh yes I am, if she wants to be properly trained then I'm going to ask him, that'll test her determination"

Oh Kami what have I done?! I've sent her to hell!

"Isn't that the spandex guy?"

"The very same…"

Naruko gave the brat a hug "I'm sorry, good luck"

She couldn't even react in her confusion, not knowing who, or rather what, we were talking about… poor her, we've doomed her…

* * *

 **That's it for now, a short chapter but I thought it would be better to end it here and continue later. Thanks for all the views, reviews, favourites and followers! I hope you had a nice weekend.**

 **I said I would have more time to write starting from November as I would've finished my internship but sadly I didn't make it… so I have to do another one until February. Ah well it happens, shame though. So have a nice week and I hope I'll have another chapter up soon, it depends on inspiration and energy (I lack energy sometimes due to medical reasons)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will and don't even want to. I do however want some nice food for Christmas, I hope you like the chapter. It's been a while since I updated so I hope you keep reading!**

* * *

Time went by quick and soon two more months had passed, we did the "Catch Tora the Magnificent Cat" mission a few more times, or rather I did. It was enjoyable to torture brats, it's a shame I didn't get Emo's team again though, it seems they want to give them time to recover from their trauma for now… Shame if you ask me…

We did see the other brat a few more times though! She's rather decent and managed to stay somewhat sane from the spandex creep so far

Like the one instance only a month ago where we first saw her again…

* * *

 _( Konoha Training Ground )_

" _You! I'm going to skin the both of you!" some ridiculously dressed brat came running at us with a red face and more killing intent than I've felt in years, oh Kami, what have we done?!_

" _S-S-Sara!"_

" _Sara my ass! Look at what you've done!"_

 _Damn, we knew it was bad but this was just horrid… why was she wearing a green spandex?! Spiky is her sensei, not… him!_

 _Our faces betrayed our feelings as the poor brat immediately saw how we felt_

" _You're damn right you're sorry! Just wait until I get my damn hands on you, how dare you let my useless sensei begin training me, how dare you let him ask this freak for help?!"_

" _Couldn't you have just let me stay as a civilian?! At least then I could've died with dignity damnit!" she was truly enraged with tears pouring down her face, she grabbed a Kunai from her pouch threatening to stab us with it…and I almost thought we should let her, we did something bad, really really bad…_

" _SARA-CHAN YOUR ENERGY IN RUNNING IS A TRUE INSPIRATION OF YOUTH! IF I CAN'T KEEP UP WITH YOU THEN I'LL DO 5000 PUSH-UPS AS PUNISHMENT!"_

" _ME TOO GUY-SENSEI!"_

" _YOSH LET'S SHOW THESE TWO THE POWER OF OUR YOUTH!"_

" _GUY-SENSEI!"_

" _LEE-KUN!"_

" _GUY-SENSEI!"_

" _LEE-KUN!"_

 _Kami fucking damnit will you shut up!_

 _The brat became vindictive and evilly smirked "Guy-sensei, how about we show my two good friends how they can light their flame of youth?"_

 _Spandex freak stopped dead in his tracks, he looked at us with a gleam in his eyes… oh no… this was bad, RUN!_

 _I ran for my dear life as Naruko instantly began following me as if death itself followed her "Guy-sensei they're joining us for our warming-up!"_

" _YOSH WE CAN'T LET THEM BEAT US, LET'S DO THIS LEE-KUN!"_

 _No! He's just like a damn wild animal, running away only excites it!_

 _The freak gained on us in a split second with two abominations in his hands, two green spandexes, he's keeping them on his person just in case?! And why in Kami's name does he have one that fits a cat?!_

" _JOIN US IN WEARING THE UNIFORM OF YOUTH, TOGETHER WE'LL SHOW THE WORLD HOW TRUE YOUTH LOOKS!"_

" _Miauw" Naruko, chakra, now!_

 _The fear of death gave Naruko the ability to transcend her limits, six tails formed behind her instantly as she grabbed on to me for dear life. We ran for our lives at speed we'd never ran before_

" _GATE OF LIMIT, KAI!"_

 _He was gaining on us! Clad in a blue hue the freak chased us like no tomorrow… we ran and ran as quick as we could, the landscape switched scenes by the second and in a record time of just two minutes we had reached the palace!_

 _We collapsed as we entered the main palace door, falling to the ground and gasping for air as we looked behind us to see the freak having been stopped at the gate by the guards_

" _Sir, you can't enter the premise without an invitation"_

 _The freak looked at us with a sad expression which quickly changed to a smile and a thumbs up pointed towards us "YOU'VE BEATEN ME IN THIS RACE, BUT I'LL WIN THE NEXT ONE!" he turned around and left as we let out a breath of relief, but I couldn't help but think we caused disaster for ourselves instead…_

* * *

( The Present )

Like I said, she was doing just fine. Except for the few attempted murders aimed at us, but we just passed them off as training. She had gotten a lot better though if that counts for anything!

Ah I forgot to mention we were on our way towards Konoha, and by 'we' I mean the whole team. Me, Naruko, Stutter, Newby and Baldy. You might ask yourself why, the answer is quite simple though as we've been challenged by multiple teams for spars, it seems word of my skill had gotten out and they wanted to test it for themselves. Therefore we decided to just plan each challenge on the same day!

We'd all grown in strength more than the average Genin would have, even Newby had become far stronger than probably even the top Genin due to his unique skillset. He was no challenge to us though, but for a Genin he was well above decent, therefore we decided to do each challenge 1 vs 3

I agree it was still unfair, but at least they had a slight chance, even if it's only miniscule

"HELP!"

Screaming from the distance interrupted my relaxed thoughts… "Hinata, check what's going on"

"Byakugan! Sensei, there seems to be a man running towards us with three others chasing him, he appears to be wounded as his left leg is limping"

Baldy nodded "We're going to assess the situation and help if deemed necessary"

Jumping into the trees we made our way towards the screaming, soon after we saw an old man lying on the ground with a face full of terror and multiple wounds all over him

"Ghehehe we've caught you now old man, let's have some fun shall we, Gato told us to give you a proper send-off" one of the thugs stabbed a knife in his leg as the man screamed in pain even more… three against one old man, despicable, typical humans…

"Naruko take them out, Hinata you will heal the man, Yuuto provide cover with your Doton while Hinata heals him. Move out"

"Hai!"

Naruko used her camouflage and stealthily ran towards the thugs without them noticing anything, obviously they weren't shinobi. Although any typical low class shinobi wouldn't have spotted her anyway but still

"Doton: Earth wall!" a large wall of earth shot up in between the thugs and the man as they were planning to torture him even more, it seemed Newby didn't want to take any chances. No matter, Naruko was already in range

"What?! Who dares interrupt us!"

One of the thugs was suddenly shot towards a tree and a loud crack was heard… I think she might have hit him too hard, just a bit…

"Kenta!"

The thugs fearfully looked at their friend that seemingly out of nowhere was shot towards a tree. They looked around themselves in panic until one of the two lit up as lightning crackled around him "Paralysis Palm"

Uhm… I think that might have been a bit too much lightning just to paralyse him Naruko, we're not dealing with shinobi here…

"Naruko, restrain the last one, you're using way too much force"

"Sorry sensei!" she undid her camouflage and appeared in front of the final thug "A brat?! You did this?! I'll kill you!"

He apparently forgot that two of his friends were already pretty much done for, a sloppy uncoordinated hit towards Naruko confirmed my point. She sidestepped it as if it was done by a child and lightly tapped the side of his head with a few fingers, he slumped to the ground acting as if he'd had a few too many drinks

"Nice work Naruko, a clever use of chakra to disrupt the brain"

"I'm finished with the healing Sensei!"

That was quick, well done Stutter! The old man didn't have even a single wound on him left, you could see his amazement as he stood up without any pain "T-Thank you! You've saved my life!"

"You're welcome, please wait and rest a minute while I check the other two thugs" Baldy inspected the two thugs that were probably dead. One of them was blown against a tree, his back twisted at an unnatural angle, the other one having scorch marks all over him and no signs of waking up…

"Sensei… did I…"

He nodded "You did Naruko, but this is part of the Shinobi way of life, you did what you had to do to save a life"

"I killed someone…" indeed you did, your very first kill. But don't worry Naruko, you've done much worse "Miauw"

"You're right…! But still, this feels wrong… ruining Sara-chan's life is different…"

Baldy approached her placing a hand on her shoulder "This happens to everyone Naruko, the first kill is always the hardest, try to accept it, never forget this feeling. The fact that you feel remorse means that you're human even if our job entails killing, lacking that feeling would mean you stop being a human"

I went to try and comfort her as much as I could, I didn't care for human life in the slightest, but I did care for Naruko… I nuzzled my head against hers as she cried

"Yuuto, clean the area"

"Hai!" Newby still in his friendly not messed up personality used his earth manipulation to put the corpses in the ground, only the final thug was left alive. Baldy went up to him and woke him up with a similar shock of chakra to the head

The thug fearfully tried to back away but the struggle was pointless "Now then, you mentioned Gato, why does the owner of one of the largest criminal companies want that man dead?"

"I'll never tell you, he'd kill me!"

"Then I pray you find salvation in the next life" a finger to the head and the light in his eyes went away… a human life is so insignificant, just a single touch and it's gone, just like that…

He went back to the man which was assaulted "You care to tell us why they were after you?"

"I…"

"Make sure you're telling the truth, I noticed you were heading towards Konoha, which means you're seeking either help or refuge. The fact that they want you dead so quickly makes me think it's the former, that combined with Gato being after you means you've done something, or are planning something that's upset him"

The man gulped "I…you're right…" he went on to tell his story about coming from the Land of Waves, how Gato had practically enslaved his whole country, used it to smuggle drugs, people and other 'merchandise'. Basically the lowest scum of the earth was terrorizing his homeland, he told about the bridge he was building that would connect the island with land near the border. This bridge would in turn mean that the monopoly on sea trade that Gato ruled over would crumble as that was the only way to move or ship things over there, so yeah the reason he wants him dead is pretty obvious

What I don't get however is why Gato would go to such lengths just to kill him! He's building a bridge, a bridge made out of stone… you see my point? Just let him finish it and blow it to pieces, why waste time and manpower on prevention when destroying it is a lot easier?!

Plus the fact that you're basically putting attention on yourself when you try to stop something like that, how could he not have known the man would ask for help from a nearby village… damn idiot…

"We'll escort you directly to the Hokage, our word will help you in acquiring help from Konoha."

"Thank you, you're saving not only me but the entire country!" Usually I couldn't care less, but a whole country basically being used as slaves and oppressed, that doesn't sit well with me

We went our way to Konoha, the spars would have to wait sadly as this is more important. Not long after did we arrive at the office, nobody tried to hamper our progress along the journey which seemed oddly convenient…

"Hokage-sama, we've come with an urgent situation"

"Chiriku-san" Oldy arched his eyebrow at the sudden entrance without prior notice "Tell me, what urgent situation"

Baldy pointed towards the bridge builder "This is Tazuna from Wave, it seems his country is being ruled by the corrupt businessman Gato. He requests aid from Konoha to finish the bridge that would end his monopoly on the country's economy. We saved him on our way here as three thugs tried to assassinate him"

"Tazuna, it's good that you've made it here, I've heard of the situation in Wave but didn't know it was this dire. However, I can't simply give you aid without issuing a proper mission."

The man looked dejected, damn you Oldy it isn't just business, I know you're the Hokage and all that but come on, have some decency!

"I…we… can't afford the proper funding for the level of mission required… we only have enough for a C-rank mission even if we combine all our money"

Oldy tapped his pipe and frowned "The situation is that bad is it, very well, we will come up with a payment plan. Once the land of Wave has recovered you will give us the payment of an A-rank mission to compensate, do you agree?"

Whoah that's not a small amount of money! The difference between the cost of a B-rank and A-rank is substantial, let alone C-rank and A-rank!

"I can't say no, we desperately need aid… I accept on behalf of the land of Wave"

Oldy nodded "Because the matter is urgent I will send you off with one of my teams immediately, back-up will arrive in a couple of days as I have no other available Jonin at the moment"

"I only request that they're competent Hokage-sama…"

Oldy smirked "I believe that's up to you to decide, as you've already met them. Team 8, I know that you're not taking missions at the moment, but due to a matter of urgency I order you to assist Tazuna-san with his bridge. This is a B-rank mission that can be upgraded to an A-rank according to what you find, send reports about any unusual circumstances and act accordingly."

"Them? But they're just kids, they may have saved my life but I'm talking about a whole country here!" we saved you, how dare you think so little of us!

"No need to worry Tazuna-san, they may seem young but their skills are far above the norm. Naruko is Jonin level in skill even if she has little experience, Hinata is High-Chuunin level and Yuuto is well suited in defence. Together with their sensei Chiriku of the Guardian Twelve you should not experience any problems"

His mouth gaping wide he couldn't believe what he'd just heard, damn right! "But they're so young!"

"Tazuna-san, age doesn't work like it does with civilians. A child may even be deadlier than a grown man because opponents will underestimate them"

"I…I understand, sorry, I didn't mean any disrespect, you've saved my life after all…"

"None taken, we'll get that bridge up and running for sure Dattebanya! Isn't that right Hinata-chan?!"

"Hai!"

Not that it'll matter, really there are so many flaws in this world that it's just amazing, the most basic and logical things don't seem to apply?

It would take us two to three days to reach the Land of Waves, having a civilian coming along with us severely hampered our speed. We could just carry him, true, but that sounds like a total drag… let's just look at it like a vacation!

"The mission will take until the bridge is finished, I estimate it will take three to four weeks so pack accordingly. Chiriku your team is dismissed, I wish all of you the best of luck, stay safe"

Our first mission! The first real one anyway… "Yuuto I assume you have supplies at the ready?" Newby nodded, we'd split up the team tasks a few months ago. Every week one of us would arrange supplies in case of an emergency, this was to prepare for any eventual situations in the future. Supplies had to be enough for a whole team to survive off for a week. This wasn't enough obviously as we were gone for longer but it was still enough for the start

"Naruko summon your clones, we're going on ahead. Have them buy the other supplies and catch up with us" the joy of shadow clones… so useful!

And with that we were on our way! We quickly passed the gate in a diamond formation, Naruko in the front, Stutter on the left and Newby on the right. Baldy stayed in the back as this was the most important position, in the back you could see everything in the front while protecting the team from any surprise attacks, it also carried the most risk in the Shinobi world.

I soon found out that our mission was plain boring... we walked for hours! Just walking, nothing else, just walking… it wasn't even a nice road to walk on, the trees were bland and boring, the sky was clear and boring, the puddles on the ground were ridiculously obvious and boring

I mean really, there were puddles on the road. Two big puddles in the middle of a road which hadn't seen rain for days… whoever was in them was total trash, utterly retarded beyond compare…

"Miauw"

"Ye I noticed, that's just sad, maybe I should…"

Baldy tapped Naruko's shoulder "Don't, Yuuto it's your turn"

He began to slightly quiver in nervousness "H-Hai…" until his other self took over "Do you need them alive?"

"No, make it quick"

A quick nod came from Newby as we continued walking, we reached the puddles as if we hadn't noticed a thing. Newby suddenly stomped on the ground "Doton: Enclosing Dome"

Two relatively sized balls of earth formed around the puddles until they couldn't be seen any longer. The domes shrank in size from a full metre in diameter until they were totally solid. Screams could be softly heard from within the domes as they shrank even if it all happened in a matter of two to three seconds, the screams stopped…

"Doton: Rock Spikes"

Two large spikes formed in Newby's hands as he impaled the domes, it was overkill but I understood his reasoning. You couldn't be too sure in the Shinobi world.

"I'm done"

"Good work, quick and efficient Yuuto. They must've been Kiri-nin, they're most known for hiding in puddles of water even with the glaring weakness it poses to them."

"Why'd they even think to do something that obvious dattebanya… like really, who wouldn't notice that?!"

"Because they're used to their own land, Kiri is full of water in which case this tactic is extremely effective. They're too used to using the same tactic that they don't think about their actions properly"

Case in point the two that're now gone…

"Always consider your surroundings, that's what we've been trying to teach the three of you, let this be a lesson or you'll find yourselves with a similar fate"

"Don't worry, I will" he switched back to the normal personality as if nothing happened. We continued on our path with little resistance, a few minor roadblocks are set up with bandits trying to halt our progress. It's a bit sad really, bandits thinking they could stop us when Shinobi died in a matter of seconds

Naruko was still slightly emotional from the first kill and hadn't done it again since, Baldy told Newby to do it in her stead for now and I could understand his reasoning. Newby didn't care about killing people, they were like insects to him, Naruko however did care as was painfully obvious. She wasn't crying anymore but you could still see her downcast expression

The first day came to a close as the night approached, we set up camp in between a few trees which weren't that far from the main road. In case something happened we would be able to leave the dense forest and go to open ground while not being clearly visible in our camp for people walking on the road

Naruko summoned a few clones to keep watch as we slept even though we didn't expect anything to happen and nothing did. It's better to be safe than take any chances, even if the chances are slim

Night passed quickly as the next day began, we made quick progress on our way to Wave. Something was off, we hadn't encountered any resistance in the slightest… the reason for this became clear only hours later as we found a roadblock without anyone alive, and by that I didn't mean that there wasn't anybody. No, what I meant is that they're all dead, dead bandits littered the floor with their heads missing as Baldy went to inspect the scene

He went to his knees to touch one of the severed necks "Hunter-nin, Kiri's here. We're going to proceed with caution, Hunter-nin aren't something we want to mess with"

"Hunter-nin?"

"Black-ops, they deal with traitors and criminals that left their village. They're known for their ruthlessness in finishing their task and take the heads for identification. If you see anyone with a mask on don't engage, wait for my orders at all cost"

Our client tensed as he heard the news, it didn't seem like he knew of their presence. Either he just didn't know, or they were new to the area. "Tazuna do you know if they've been present while you were here?"

"N-No… We've had an increase in the amount of thugs and bandits lately but no shinobi… maybe… I don't know… there's been something strange going on lately"

"Explain"

"People have gone missing and more than a normal amount of Gato's thugs began appearing, I thought it was because of my bridge"

Baldy nodded "A valid assumption but this does seem strange, hunter-nin wouldn't show up for something like that."

"Naruko keep your senses up, Hinata same with your Byakugan, use it in intervals to conserve energy. Yuuto begin summoning your defence, we might need it"

"Doton: Rock Armour" nothing seemed to have happened, but if you payed close enough attention you could see light slightly refract from his skin like it did on glass. Instead of blue balls of chakra spinning around him they were now circling vertically while taking earth with them every time they passed the ground. Small balls of rock formed which grew with time, they took a long time to form, a lot longer than the normal chakra balls, but were far more effective when they were ready.

We were at the ready for anything that could happen. We entered Wave and soon found a thick fog compassing the land, our visibility became limited but not enough to seem out of the ordinary. Naruko and Stutter hadn't noticed anything off as of yet or we would've been told so the fog was normal…

It was annoying though! "Tazuna are we almost at your house?"

"Almost, we only need to walk for one more hour before we arrive"

Finally… the fog was driving me insane, as was the constant smell that saturated the area. It was strange, it had a small hint of blood in it but was weird, it smelt off somehow…

We had the smell of blood on and around us for the last day due to the constant sight of dead bandits and our need to pass through them, so that wasn't strange. But this smell was new

We walked for another half hour before Stutter spotted something in the distance "The fog's saturated with Chakra a few kilometres to our north, it seems like a Jutsu"

"Hiding in the Mist, Kiri Hunter-nin use it often. Do you see anyone inside of it?"

"Hai, two people and some other, but their pathways are strange, I can't make them out from this distance"

"We're going to check it out, it seems there's a fight going on. Either the Kiri-nin aren't after Tazuna and we could form some sort of alliance, or we take the chance if it presents itself and take them all out together"

We closed in stealthily and heard sounds of fighting after a while, it sounded like blades hitting each other and screams. Not screams of terror or pain but screams which sounded strangely inhuman

"There's more coming towards the fight!"

"How many Hinata?"

"About ten? I can't be sure, they're strange, they're human but also not. All I know is that they're going towards the two that seem normal!"

"Hinata and Yuuto, you protect Tazuna. Naruko and I will do the fighting, stay close together!"

"Buddha's Protection!" each of us activated our protective techniques as we got in closer, the mist grew thicker and light rain came down upon us. Rain and Fog don't mix, this wasn't natural by any means. Most noticeable by one key fact, it drained our chakra!

It wasn't quick by any means, but it still did. This could spell trouble in the long run, Naruko wouldn't have any issues with her massive reserves, same with Baldy. The others though could have problems, we had to make this quick

We came so close to the fighting that we saw a muscular man with a big ass sword swinging it around like it was a twig, he had a mask in which indicated that he was a hunter-nin. Next to him was another hunter-nin which was a lot smaller in stature, I had no idea if it was a girl or boy, it was a brat though… what was most noticeable about him/her/it was the techniques used, projectiles made out of ice were shot towards the ones attacking them. The two of them weren't doing great however as they had multiple wounds on them… wounds that seemed more from an explosion!

KABOOM!

Just as the cleaver dude which kind of… smelled nice… focus! Slashed one of the attackers in half the corpse exploded! No wonder they had such marks, when you kill them they explode!

"Miauw" Naruko!

But it was too late… she slashed one of the 'men' in half only for him to explode right in her face. She blew away from the force and slammed into a tree, her shield took care of any damage but it still rocked her world. She got up shaking her head in frustration

Three shadow clones appeared next to her and activated their shields. She went straight back in but changed her tactics, instead of going in close she instead used wind chakra to extend the range of her claws

Her claws sliced some into pieces and explosions filled the area, what was most noticeable however was not the explosions but the fact that some of them got back up after the attacks!

"Naruko watch out, they regenerate when you don't kill them!" damn these freaks were annoying! Either you straight up kill them only for them to blow up in your face or they just get back up with wounds disappearing in mere seconds!

More and more were coming as thugs apparently filled the area, I watched the group gather as the rest was fighting. They were running towards us and ate some kind of pill which turned them mad before they reached us. Black lines began covering them as they took them and their actions became as if they were mad, they didn't attack any of their allies so they still had some rational thought.

Our group was slowly struggling to keep up without harming themselves, Naruko did the best job as she was able to divide her attention, literally… there were multiple of her which helped the case. Each enemy wasn't strong, in fact they were weak. The numbers and danger of killing one too close by was the problem, one good hit and they were dead. You couldn't handle numbers with strong hits however, you need good hits and many of them, a giant cleaver isn't made for that, neither is Stutter's style, Newby's bullets caused wounds that closed up instantly. Baldy was doing better but his attacks were more suited for blunt damage which the enemies healed from…

So it was left to Naruko, as I said the numbers grew and they were getting in trouble. There was only one option left and she knew it. Two more clones popped into existence, all six Narukos grew feral and formed a red tail behind them.

Their shield grew stronger and was able to take the explosions point blank, six of her flashed over the battlefield and cut down enemies as if they were flies. There was no danger for her, the others however had to run like mad as the explosions seemed to follow them… this was especially the case for the good smelling one, damn he smelled nice…

"Fish…"

…she's right, he does smell like fish, glorious delectable, no Tora focus! Don't think of the aromatic cleaver swinging butcher even if he smells amazing!

The fighting ceased as every thug had died by her hands, the groups of Konoha and Kiri split apart some distance away from each other. We stared at each other until either one made a move "Fish… fish…"

Her Kyuubi chakra faded but she still looked at the hunter-nin with hunger in her eyes.

"Zabuza, Demon of the Hidden Mist. I would say it's a pleasure to meet you but the occasion isn't so pleasant" Baldy acted perfectly politically with his monk-like attitude

"Chiriku of the fire temple… what's a monk doing all the way here with some brats?"

"Zabuza-sama! You should thank them for saving us!"

"Silence, grown-ups are talking"

"F…ish…"

"Tss as if some tree huggers saved us, we would've handled them fine without help. I do however have to admit I like that brats style… why is she staring at me like I'm food?"

Naruko was holding herself back but you could see she was extremely agitated and ready to pounce… "Oh Kami! She's one of them! Haku, run!"

She shot towards him, six of her in fact, with claws swiping at him as he dodged frantically "Naruko! Stop attacking!".

That won't work Baldy, she's gone mad with hunger, sweet hunger… I want a piece of him… Maybe I should join her? No! That's unladylike, I have to stay regal!

He was already wounded and therefore struggled to keep up with Naruko, but you could notice his superior skill. He was a true master of the sword and probably would have won if he wasn't so exhausted and injured. "Hyoton: Floor of Ice!"

The ground of the entire area turned into solid ice in a mere instant! Naruko struggled to keep her balance and fell to the floor from the speed at which she moved and the lack of experience with ice. How do you even walk on ice properly?!

Fishman ran away over the ice as if it was solid ground with his lackey right behind him, he escaped… my food escaped! I hate this world…

"Katon: Scalding Air" the air rose in temperature, not too much though but enough to melt all the ice. The clones popped out of existence and Naruko sat on the ground with defeat on her face "He escaped… my fish…"

"Naruko! What happened to you?! You can't just attack someone out of the blue, especially not a hunter-nin!" Baldy reprimanded her but he didn't realize the situation

"But… he smelled amazing… like the best fish ever… I kind of stopped thinking?"

"Are you serious? You just lost your mind just like that?"

"Yes? I wanted to eat him dattebanya! Kami, I wanted to eat him?!"

It seems she really didn't know what she was doing, she actually wanted to eat a living human, what was wrong with her?!

Baldy sighed "It seems you really weren't acting with reason, we have to look into this, this could spell trouble in the wrong situation. But now we have to run, Tazuna take us to your home to rest, the mission has just changed drastically"

"Hai…"

* * *

 **And there you have it! The wave mission but with a twist! I know it took a while to update and I apologize, I didn't really know where to take this chapter and changed it a couple of times… I think the way it's going now is for the best, it's a lot different than in the normal story. You must've realized that Kiri isn't the way it is in the original story though!**

 **I hope you liked it, have a nice day and I'm a bit too excited for Christmas…**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will and don't even want to. I do however want to wish all of you a happy new year, I know the year may have been hard and it may have been awful but still, I wish you the best for the coming year. I hope you continue reading my story and like where it's heading…**

* * *

We arrived at the old man's home to rest up, the fight hadn't taken too much of a toll on us but still enough to warrant resting and discussing the issues presented.

"Tsunami, Inari we're home!"

The door slammed open as a brat rushed towards the old man with tears in his eyes, he jumped into his open arms and stammered like a typical brat… "Y-you're ali-alive! *snif snif*" damn brats and their constant crying…

The oldy gave a smile that betrayed his emotions, the brat didn't seem to have noticed but it was all too clear. He knew something was seriously wrong after our last encounter and his courage and resolve were already slowly slipping away, he was losing his hope

"Of course I am you brat! What do you think would happen to a master Bridge builder such as I?! now let's get ourselves something to eat, I'm famished!"

He held the brat in his arms as he went inside, we followed close behind him "Tsunami, Inari, these are the Konoha shinobi that came to assist me, they may seem young but I can assure you that they're very capable!"

A blue haired bombshell gave a small bow "It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Tsunami, and this is my son Inari" you mean brat…

She gave the old man a calculating eye with an extremely fake smile "I'm sure my father in law treated you with respect and stopped lying for once?"

" _Tss as if he had a chance to lie dattebanya"_ it was but a whisper but she seemed to have heard it all too well "Oh? Did he get in trouble yet again? I hope he didn't bother you too much with his excessive drinking?"

"Nah! And I'm sure the punches to his gut would've removed the alcohol anyway!"

"Naruko!" Stutter slapped her on the back of the head "Apologize!"

Baldy coughed "I apologize for the comment of my student, she likes to… exaggerate things a bit…" as if… he practically died…

"What?! I'm not lying!"

A bit of killing intent began radiating from the bombshell "Father, tell me, did something happen?"

"N-No!"

"Don't lie, you know what happens when you lie, don't you?"

"Okay okay I'm sorry! I got caught by some of Gato's thugs, but these kids saved me!" aww I wanted to see what happened if he kept lying!

"Oh my, it seems they are indeed quite capable. Let's go to the living room and get you something to drink while you tell me _everything_ that happened"

"Hai… follow me kids…"

Damn she sure is the boss of this family, just a few words and the dude's shaking more than when he was about to die from the thugs!

It seemed all they could afford was water, not even a snack was present on the table indicating that they were indeed extremely poor. Luckily for us that we brought our own "Kai" Naruko unfolded a scroll on the table and released multiple treats from it, we weren't going to go on a mission without some of Fatty's treats now were we… that would be mental

"Kami where'd you get these?! Inari come quick!"

The brat rushed into the room, stars appeared in his eyes as he saw all the food, my food! Keep your filthy hands off my food!

"C-Can I?"

"Sure dattebanya, take as much as you want!" Naruko!

I quickly grabbed my favourites as the brat seemed to have appeared next to the food at blinding speed, just in time… apparently the others were already telling about what had transpired while I was protecting that which was mine

"And that's when we arrived here, as you can imagine this complicates things. Tsunami-san, have you seen anything unusual in the town during the last couple of days?"

A bit of fright appeared on her face "I have… a couple of days ago I wanted to do my usual shopping but found a large number of thugs in the town, I saw… I saw them take women and do 'stuff' to them. I fled before they saw me and stayed here until you arrived, the thugs used to only harm the townsfolk at interval but now they seem off, they've become dangerous…"

"It seems the events started happening since a short while ago. Team, we're going to scout the town tomorrow, we'll discuss the plans tonight"

"Hn!"

"Tazuna, you and your family will stay inside the house during the remainder of our stay except for when we accompany you. We have plenty of food and water to sustain all of us, the bridge will have to wait until we can assess the situation"

"But we need to finish it to save the country!"

"And what then? You finish the bridge while the town is inhabited by hundreds of thugs, what trader would be willing to come here? The bridge won't help if the root of the problem remains"

"…Then what can we do, we're lost? I refuse to give up! I have to save my home and family!"

"Then put your trust in us, it's better to take more time and actually save your country than to rush in and lose it all. We're going to assess the situation and determine a plan after that, is that understood? Not to mention that we have aid coming shortly, we need all the help we can get"

"I… I understand…"

He went upstairs probably to drink himself into a coma, not that I couldn't understand though. He kind of got a wake-up call that his bridge plan is full of holes, it just wouldn't work

"You three go upstairs and rest, we'll discuss the plan in two hours"

And that's just what we did, after the food was gone though… as if I'd leave it there like that with a brat gorging on it

We met up with Baldy to discuss our plans, we gathered at one of the bedrooms given to us to rest, some mats were placed on the floors to give as much comfort as they could

"As I previously said we'll be scouting the town tomorrow, I want each of you to have a different task. Yuuto you're going to sneak into the town with your unassuming appearance. Stay in the shadows and act as usual, see if you can find anything unusual, eavesdrop on the thugs. Naruko you will use your shadow clones to scout the nearby area, focus on stealth and remain unseen. Your clones don't need strength, make as many as you can while keeping them effective"

"Hinata you will stay here and protect Tazuna and his family, you're not suited for stealth due to your appearance. I will spy on Gato's base while staying at a good distance, if they got an ambush on Zabuza then it must mean they have some capable shinobi on their side"

"Do you want me to keep my main body here?"

Baldy nodded "I do, it's better to be safe, you're not as unassuming as Yuuto is when it comes to infiltration. Your clones have a chance to be caught but you'll just have to order them to pop themselves if they even think they've been spotted. Stay here and write down everything you're informed of by the clones"

"But I hate writing dattebanya!"

"Naruko this is a serious situation, you'll have to do what we need you to do even if you don't like it. Teamwork is of the utmost importance, your job is information gathering with the clones, we can't take the chance of you forgetting information due to the massive influx you'll get when they dispel"

"Hai… but I still hate it…"

"Everybody in agreement to their roles?"

We nodded in confirmation, wait a minute, what about me?! Wait another minute… does this mean I don't have to do anything? Jackpot… it's best to keep quiet!

"Good, rest up and prepare everything you need, we'll head out first thing in the morning. Yuuto you'll be changing clothes with Tazuna's kid."

* * *

( The following morning )

Standing outside of the house we prepared to head out, the ones that had to at least. "I'm going on ahead to keep an eye on Gato's base, Naruko you'll begin sending out clones. Don't do too many at once, make sure to spread them out."

"Yuuto you'll sneak into the town in two hours, that's when it's the most crowded according to Tazuna. Wait outside of town and hide until then, keep an eye on anything noteworthy"

"Got it"

"Hinata you know what to do?"

"Hai, use my Byakugan in intervals to check for anyone nearby"

"Then we're all set, I'll see you in the evening" he sped off into the distance and disappeared only seconds later, it seems things were getting interesting

"I'm going as well, good luck you two…" and next was Newby, only us left. Nice and quiet at last

Ten shadow clones appeared next to Naruko as she gave a thoughtful nod "These should last for a few hours, they're unable to fight but oh well! Head out my servants!"

"… the hell boss, we're you, want us to take that scroll full of fish from your back pocket?"

What's this, fish? She paled as she noticed my gaze combining with the others, you didn't tell me about that scroll servant, and who are you calling servants? You're my servant, know your place!

"N-No!"

"Then get on your knees…" she promptly kneeled before us in fear "Now then, say this for us: I'm sorry great Narukos that will do all the hard work for me while I sit on my lazy ass and whine about being an annoying brat"

"What! Bu…"

"Tora, it's in the right back pocket protected by another seal in the seams"

"Don't!" she began crying "I-I'm sowwy great Narukos that will do…"

"Continue, all the hard work…"

"That will do all the hard work for me while I sit on my lazy ass and whine about being an annoying brat… please don't touch my fish…"

I'm still taking that fish…

"Better, we're your clones you numbnut, we can blackmail you all we want dattebanya. We know every dirty little secret you have, remember that!"

"Hai… I'm sowwy!"

"Now stop crying, you're making us look bad, get inside and be a good girl"

She continued to sniffle and shuffled back inside, time to follow her and claim my fish, good work clones! And that ladies and gentlemen is the downside of clones, they're you… if you're a dick then they'll be a dick as well

* * *

( Chiriku Point of View )

'I'm sure they'll be alright, this will be their first real mission. We've trained them extensively for the last few months, even if they can't find the information they'll still manage to stay safe'

Chiriku jumped through the forest making sure he wasn't spotted, he knew Gato had shinobi under his pay check even if they hadn't shown themselves just yet. They may not be S-rank or even A-rank, but if you have enough lower ranked ones it would still make it hard to keep hidden. One sensor at the wrong place and time and you're in trouble…

The Gato corporation wasn't far off, the island that Tazuna lived was close by the town, Gato had made his base right outside of the outskirts. The base had a clear view of the entire town and nearby clearing, the biggest problem became all too clear to Chiriku right away

'This isn't a base, this is a fortress! Only a shinobi would cut down all the nearby trees to make sure they have a clear view of the surroundings. Not to mention the size of the main building, it's far too large to be just his office'

He tried to look for any way he could get closer but couldn't. The entire area around the base didn't even have a single tree to give cover, there wasn't a river with rocks he could hide in or behind, neither was there any form of darkness that he could hide in…

'I can't get close… if he even has a few people on the lookout they'll sport me regardless, we'll need Naruko's camouflage for this. I should look around the area for anything noteworthy'

Chiriku moved around the edges of the clearing still staying hidden by the trees, thick walls surrounded Gato's base with only one main gate. The road leading through and from the gate seemed to be guarded by at least two people, from what he could remember this road led directly to the largest harbour

'The later part of the road had trees surrounding it, that'll the only place where I could gather information and that is if they have a shipment of sorts…'

'But there's nothing else to see here, there doesn't seem to be any activity at the base' he decided to wait one full hour to see if anything would happen, sadly it was fruitless. Nothing happened at all, no-one entered the base or even moved around it except for the two people stationed to keep guard, something was definitely off

'No wonder Zabuza was caught, he must've underestimated the situation'

* * *

( Yuuto Point of View )

Hiding inside the few bushes still remaining near the town Yuuto patiently waited until it was time to act, it was tedious, boring and extremely frustrating…

'Why did I have to get this boring mission?! It's not even hard, all I have to do is walk around…'

' _Oh shup up, isn't this exactly what we planned? Getting stuck with those buffoons for so long is already driving me mad!'_

'They're not that bad… I mean they are helping us get stronger…'

' _Although that's true it doesn't mean they aren't incompetent in other areas, how have they not even figured out yet that we're speaking to each other?! They still think you're the innocent bubbly idiot that can't even hurt a fly'_

'They are technically right, we did kind of split up our emotions in order to divide the tasks'

' _Oh please we both know that's not entirely true, my task is to keep us alive but your task is still to get me into the tricky situations, we're both responsible. You even watch as I do my work without any protest'_

'And you constantly whine when I do mine… sometimes I wonder if it was worth it'

' _You know it is, we may not be strong enough at the moment but only this way can we manipulate nature chakra effectively. Just stick to the plan and stay average, we don't want any attention to be drawn to ourselves, keep living in the shadows of the other two and continue to grow strong'_

' _All our plans have worked so far, we just have to patiently wait until it's time…'_

'Fine, then let's get this boring part over with'

Seeing as it was getting more crowded he decided to begin the task at hand, there weren't any real patrols as of yet, or at least he hadn't noticed. Coming out of the bushes he began acting like the most average person possible, normal poor man's clothes borrowed from the kid and a dirty appearance. He didn't look like a total street rat but also not like a normal commoner, nobody would pay attention to him

He walked through the town in search of anything of value, some bits of information or locations where the thugs gathered. It was easy enough, there were thugs all over the place!

' _Something is seriously off, there are more thugs than normal civilians'_

'And they act in groups, they aren't some unorganized bunch of savages, they've had training'

' _Don't get too close then'_

Continuing through the streets he saw beggars, thugs and prostitutes, it didn't even seem like a town but more a hovel of miscreants waiting for something to happen. Thugs provided the money, prostitutes made them stay and beggars picked up the scraps to survive…

"How long are we going to stay here?! It's been two months of waiting already, I'm sick and tired of waiting!"

"Keep quiet! Do you want to get us killed you idiot, you know we have no choice!"

"Tss as if they co…" his head came flying off as he fell to the ground with a thud "What a shame, why do you pieces of trash keep complaining, be glad our boss found a use for you worthless scum instead of just killing you off"

A woman stood behind the corpse with a smirk on her face and a katana in her hands 'The thugs aren't here by their own accord, it seems shinobi are using them for some reason'

' _Maybe the ones we fought against were forced to, either they kill us or they're killed themselves, it would explain things. Why else would thugs attack shinobi, even in groups they know they're outmatched'_

'Should I try to follow her?'

' _No, I can feel her strength from here, she's far out of our league. Don't take any chances and just try to find information from the thugs instead'_

The people around acted as if the sight of someone getting killed was normal, sure they had fear on their faces but there wasn't any panic. There wasn't really anything he could do except walk around town and hope someone said something interesting, staying in the same location for too long would draw attention even if he is unassuming…

Bits and pieces were picked up, most of them were whispers about the thugs being held here against their will. It wasn't as they assumed, the town wasn't being taken hostage by the thugs, the thugs were taken hostage by shinobi. They didn't act against the civilians at the moment, probably in fear that the shinobi would take care of them if they did

Then why did Tsunami say she saw women getting taken advantage of? What changed in the last few days? 'Something happened that made the thugs behave different, they're not even touching the civilians'

' _Calm before the storm perhaps?'_

'Maybe, but what storm? Gato's already got the entire country under his control, what more does he need?'

' _They're trying not to draw any unwanted attention. Maybe Tazuna's trip to Konoha gave the ones at the top fright that attention would be drawn to the activities here. It would explain why they've suddenly calmed down'_

'Then why would there be roadblocks? Wouldn't that be counterproductive?'

' _Hmm… you're right, they've already drawn attention of Kiri, we have to watch out. They could already be agitated because of that, one wrong move and they might strike just to make sure we're silent, no doubt they know we're here with the Bridge builder'_

'But why would they care about him?! Even if he manages to build the bridge is would only give Gato more profit, he would just have to take control over it'

' _He doesn't care I think, he just doesn't want people snooping around'_

'Let's look around a bit more and head back'

* * *

( Evening )

We'd been busy, or at least Naruko had, with writing down every possible piece of useful information. Apparently Naruko took her job a little too serious, for someone that hated writing she sure did a lot of it… some trees that seemed suspicious, animals that looked suspiciously too much at her clones and patches of grass that just seemed too dark compared to the just as green other parts… she'd become a bit too paranoid I recon

The door opened as Baldy walked in with a tired expression, I guess he either didn't have much luck in his quest or the things he found were all too disturbing. He sat down next to us giving a blank look at the mountain of notes Naruko had written

"…Isn't that a bit too much? I know I gave you the orders to gather every piece of information but this is just absurd, and trust me us monks know a lot about absurd amount of paperwork…"

Naruko began pouting "It's all useful! I had like five hundred clones gather information…"

"Five hundred?! How are you still conscious?!"

"I may or may not have used a bit of the Kyuubi's chakra?"

Baldy sighed "I guess I should just commend you, good job Naruko… but next time don't use the Kyuubi understand? We need to stay hidden, not have you become a beacon to any possible shinobi nearby"

"Hai…" of which she used two hundred clones looking for the fish dude, not that she or I would ever mention that part, especially since we had no luck finding our snack

"How'd it go with your task Sensei? Any luck?"

An even deeper sigh came out of him, apparently it didn't go all too well "Dreadful to say the least, I think we may be in over our heads on this one, by the way, where's Hinata?"

"Gathering tea leaves in the forest! We found some when we went for a stro..l…" you messed up…

"I told you to stay inside, didn't I?"

"We found something suspicious?" not really convincing tone there Naruko, still a terrible liar

"Tea leaves are suspicious? I guess I should read your report on those then?"

"Hn! Second pile of notes, should be the fifth page!" and true to her words she had actually written it down, a four page summary of why the tea leaves shouldn't be there and seemed off, like someone planted them there for private use. I mean the report is written well enough to make sense but still it's absurd to write an essay about it?

"I'm too tired for this, just don't do it again. When do you suspect she'll be back?"

"Hmm, five minute? I send a clone with her in case something happens so no worries!"

"Good, we'll wait for her and Yuuto to return and then combine what we've found, this is going to be a long night…"

Not long after did the two of them return, Stutter being energetic with freshly brewed tea sitting on a tray, Newby seeming just as tired as Baldy and obviously not too happy. Not that I don't understand, he had to spy on a village full of lowlifes and pretend to be no-one at the same time, it sounds exhausting to say the least

"Ah you've returned, come sit down, there's much to discuss"

"…You can say that again, what a horrible day…"

"That bad Yuuto?"

Even Newby sighed "to make it short, we could be in big trouble…"

"It seems we've all come to that conclusion then" we sat down around the table with tea before us, not that any of us had time to drink it, we had much to do it seemed

"I'll start of then, as I said I scouted Gato's base. What I found was not too pleasant, his base isn't anywhere near what a civilian should have, even if he's extremely rich. It's better to call it a fortress than a base, there's high walls and a large clearing to spot any intruders that approach. I couldn't enter it by any means and had to resort to investigating the harbour…"

"The harbour is where the trouble became even worse, I've heard things about Gato that seemed despicable, human trafficking and drugs smuggling, but this… there were ships with hundreds of corpses, slaves and crates that seemed full of experimental materials shipping constantly. The 'supplies' came out of an equally well defended warehouse hours on end with obvious shinobi guarding them. We're not up against civilians and thugs"

That's just problematic to say the least, how're we expected to help build a damn bridge when we have a billionaire with shinobi working for him! Together with those miscreant things that blow up it can only spell trouble

"So that's my report, Yuuto continue with yours if you will"

"Hai, I went into town to gather information, I was successful in staying hidden but it came at a cost. I was unable to gather a lot of really useful information due to some shinobi patrolling the area, I had to resort to gathering information from random thugs on the streets."

"What I found was…disturbing… there's a massive amount of thugs inside the town, and they're organized as if they had training… at least a few hundred. They come and go in large numbers but don't cause any harm to the civilians, it seems that they've calmed down since a few days ago and I think it's because of our clients trip to Konoha…"

"The thugs were restless, they aren't here for their pleasure. Some of them complained about the situation and met their death by the shinobi that overheard them, it seems the thugs are held captive here as well as the civilians, the shinobi said something about their boss finding a use for them"

"No-one said anything about the Bridge or even mentioned it, apparently it's not an issue at all. I can even conclude that I think Gato has nothing against the bridge, he only wants nobody drawing attention on the activities here. There were only ordered to attack the client when he went to Konoha for help, I think that if he never went to us for help then he would've been able to complete the bridge without any issues"

"You're saying the bridge is unimportant? Won't Gato lose a large amount of his profit when it's completed dattebanya?!"

"Why would he worry? He controls the naval transport and only has to gather thugs to control the bridge when it finishes, I think it could even speed up his transportation if he really wanted it to"

Baldy began looking worried "So we're here for an unrelated issue, our mission shouldn't be any problem if we only focused on the bridge and nothing else?"

"Sadly I don't think so… if it had just been us then it would be fine I think, but with Kiri coming here as well I think they're really sensitive to anything that happens…"

"So they would possibly attack us if we snoop around too much, even if it's around the bridge… this is becoming problematic. That's all you have to report?"

Newby nodded "Good, switch back with your other self then, good work on your task Yuuto"

"Naruko you're up next, you've written down a lot so a summary would suffice"

"Hai! I did a lot of snooping and sneaking and found a lot dattebanya! This pile of notes is about weird patches of grass that seem to be hiding something… although I don't know what because I couldn't find out… this pile is about weird footprints, this one about suspicious trees and this one about the really delicious tea leaves!"

"…So you found nothing?"

She looked shocked and utterly insulted, although I agree with him… "No! I did, aren't you listening?! This is totally suspicious! I even felt some weird chakra signatures underground!"

Baldy's head shot up "An underground smuggling route! Near those patches of grass?"

"Hn!"

"Locations where they were constructed and later closed up probably, no wonder I saw no transportation above ground except in the harbour… Naruko, how far apart are these patches of grass?"

"Hmm… all around? They're not really close to each other but always hidden by some rocks or trees or something"

"Then he doesn't just have a fortress but also an entire underground cave system. Naruko good job, I have another task for you tomorrow, we'll decide what to do based off of that. You're going to infiltrate Gato's base with your clones, have ten of them camouflage themselves and sneak in, try to find where Gato resides and make a layout of the base"

"You'll pop your clones immediately if they're even suspected of being there"

"Got it! I'm going to draw up the entire fortress dattebanya, Gato's going down!"

* * *

 **Wave mission with a big twist! You can guess what's going on if you'd like, the next chapter is about Naruko's infiltration! A part of it though, I don't want to draw out the wave mission for too long, it's important I can say that but making it too long would be tedious… for those wondering about Gaara, it's almost time… let's just say he's a bit eccentric**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, don't even want to… I've been very busy lately so sorry for this delay, to make it up I've written two, almost three chapters. The first two will be out now and the third hopefully in the coming days. I hope you like them, I didn't want to make the wave arc too long though.**

* * *

Doubting if she should open the door Naruko hesitated on the other end of Gato's office 'Go in or wait outside… what if there's someone inside?'

"You can come in" a voice said from the other side of the door 'What?! He knows I'm here?! … should I?' doubting if she should actually do it the door suddenly opened "I told you to come on in"

Discarding the hesitation she decided to do just that, the order was to dispel when she was found but this was too good an opportunity to pass up. Naruko went inside and saw that she was standing in a small office, it wasn't glorious like she'd imagined a billionaire's office to be like, it was quite practical and clean in fact.

On the other side of the desk that she saw in the middle of the office sat a man with a pristine business suit and black glasses. He was old and didn't seem to have any real combat experience judging by his appearance "Well now Naruko-chan, what a surprise, is what I would say if I didn't know you were sneaking around my base"

"You knew?"

"Of course I did, take a seat, I won't harm you. Even if I would then you would just disappear so you have nothing to worry about, do you?"

'He's right, I'm just a clone… but how does he know me?'

"How…" she couldn't even finish her sentence as he smiled at her and finished the sentence "Do I know you?" she nodded "I'm a billionaire Naruko-chan, of course I would have an information network. Plus, I have this"

He held up his hand which seemed to hold a card of sort "Let's see shall we, you've been a busy girl. Not a lot of missions, in fact this seems to be your first real one? But you've been quite busy with training…"

"Ninjutsu 3 out of five, Taijutsu 4, Genjutsu 1, Strength 3, speed 4, stamina 5, hand seals 4… a total of 24 points at such a young age, quite an astounding feat Naruko-chan"

'He can see my strength?! He's dangerous!'

"Although you still have much room to grow in being the Kyuubi's container and all, you did take an intriguing path I must say. Focus on speed and basics it seems, just like… No, I mustn't speak of that just yet, excuse me Naruko-chan"

"How do you know all this dattebanya?!"

Gato smiled "Like I said, I have an information network"

"But this…! You couldn't possibly!" 'He's far too dangerous, I have to take my chance right now!' Naruko disappeared from view intending to strike Gato and instantly kill him, with her extreme speed she shouldn't be able to be stopped by an old man in a suit, right?!

Wrong… the man smiled at her as he held her hand with his own "Still too inexperienced Naruko-chan" she found herself unable to move even in the slightest, Gato stood up and moved her to the chair, sat her down and returned to his desk.

"Now then to the order of business, I was expecting you at some point. As you've noticed I know all about you, just like your team, you've intrigued me… Konoha shinobi that have no love for their village, that's just exhilarating to find! No Naruko-chan, I won't harm you or your team, you're far too interesting… but I will give you an offer"

"The Bridgebuilder will be allowed to build his bridge without any hampering from my side, none of my men will harm him or his workers in any way and will even assist if necessary. He was under no threat to begin with, we have never harmed him while he was constructing the bridge because the bridge doesn't harm my business at all."

"Him going to Konoha however was not to my pleasing, I don't want to draw attention upon myself at this point. What I'm doing may seem despicable and I admit, it is in most ways. But it is for the greater good, Naruko you have noticed as well, the shinobi villages are a disease…"

"They may seem to protect the common people but that is not true at all, most of the harm done to normal people is done by shinobi, not bandits or thugs. The councils have grown corrupt and lust for power, I'm trying to give power back to the common person"

Naruko disgusted by the notion interrupted him "But you're killing them, we saw it!"

"That much is true, but you can't alter the strength of a person with any normal experimentation. You may not believe me and that is fine by all means, but this world has many sides Naruko-chan… the villages act as if they're holy and want the better for everybody, yet they war against each other at the slightest hint of gaining power and kill hundreds of thousands of commoners in the process"

"Just look at Amegakure, it was a normal nation at one point only to be utterly destroyed by other nations just because it was a convenient place to fight. Almost ninety percent of the population there died due to all the fighting, fighting done by shinobi"

"We have to rid this world of such a system, the villages must be either destroyed or unified, but we both know that unification isn't possible. That would mean the councils lose their precious power, they will do anything they can to stop that, so the final option is…"

"Destroying every village?" Naruko couldn't help but slightly agree at his notion, while it was despicable and wrong in so many ways, it caused so much harm and death in the short run… it was true that the villages were terrible, she had experienced it all too much just like her teammates

'Didn't Yuuto say the same? He wanted to become Hokage or… destroy the village…'

Naruko sat in her chair contemplating the issue, would she help the man before her and keep silent about the issue? Or tell it to her superiors and inform the council in the process… "What do you want me to do?"

Gato smiled "It seems you get the point, keep silent about this conversation, just tell them one thing, two people will attack the bridge builder in four days' time. In return I will send two of my men towards you as if they plan to stop the construction. They will not harm the bridge builder, but will act as if they want to. They will be medium level fighters that give your team a challenge but you should be able to defeat them"

"They will think you saved the bridge, you get to show your skill to your superiors and nobody will get hurt in the process"

"Promise me one thing, never hurt any of the people I care about…" Gato smirked "That can be arranged, it seems we have an agreement. In return I will give you a freebee, go to Kumogakure and visit the southern mountains, there you will find a man to help you improve your skills"

"Who?"

"Now that is the question, let's just say that he is the master of the basics. He will have much to teach you, you can trust me on that"

* * *

( The Original Naruko )

Naruko finished drawing the map of the base as far as she was able to scout, it was massive to say the least… "I'm done, my final clone was destroyed"

Chiriku nodded "Well done, let's look at the map then"

The team looked at the map before them and could only gasp as the sheer size of it, the complexity of the rooms and corridors Naruko was able to explore "Sensei, this is absurd! And to think this isn't even all of it!"

"…I agree, there's just too many spots that would be a clear death trap, nobody is able to visit Gato if he's this well protected"

"Actually… I kind of did?"

"You did? How?"

"I kind of heard him through one of the doors, I heard three voices talking about something… I think they're planning to attack the bridge in four days, Gato said he would send two men somewhere"

Chiriku grew alarmed "You didn't get caught, did you?"

"Nope! My clone popped quickly after she heard this, what should we do sensei?"

"Good work Naruko, with this we'll be able to prepare in advance and choose a location for the attack. We'll wait there until they come, our job in the coming days is to find a suitable spot not too far from the bridge. They mustn't think we know of their attack so the spot we choose should be reasonable"

"What about the village? Do you want us to continue spying on it?"

He shook his head "No, this takes priority. After the two attackers are gone we will have bought time to finish the bridge. Gato will most likely send two of his strongest men, killing them will probably scare him from attacking again"

… The plan was good and all but something was off, something about Naruko was off. Others may not notice but I know her better than anyone else, we've been through thick and thin, she's hiding something. But what? And why?

Deciding to wait until we were alone I followed Naruko out of the house, the plan was to each look for a suitable area. This would give me the chance to see what was going on, I hope

"Miauw"

We'd reached the forest after walking well over ten minutes "Not now Tora-chan, I'm sorry"

"Miauw" what are you hiding?"

She stopped in her track "You know?"

Duh? "Miauw"

"You're right… You know me better than anyone else… I love you Tora-chan but I can't, I can't tell you in fear someone might hear"

She's so scared of anybody noticing even when we can sense anyone that would approach? This is serious "Miauw" are we in trouble?

She shook her head "No, I'll tell you later I promise, okay?" She was upset? Continuing to find the answer would only make her close up, I know her, she will tell me eventually… the only option left would be to find a suitable spot, the sooner this is over the sooner she'll tell me!

We searched in silence for well over an hour until we met up with the others, it seemed we all found the same spot. It wasn't really a clearing, more like a decently large area right before the bridge, it had some trees but not that they limited visibility. It was perfect, we wouldn't be able to set up many traps though as the area was too open, it would be obvious something was going on if we did

"It seems we came to the same conclusion, great work everybody. Now to think of what we can do about the area. Yuuto and Hinata your job will be to protect Tazuna at all costs, find a spot where you can do that and prepare it in advance. Naruko, you and I will look for spots to set up traps"

"We will be training here for the next few days, this will make the area look like it's partially destroyed. They will think we've used it only for training purposes, not to set up a trap"

A decent idea, although four days is a lot of time… wouldn't they scout it out as well and look at our training? "Miauw"

"Tora-chan's right sensei, what about the two coming? Won't they scout just like us?"

Baldy smiled "That's why we'll train half-heartedly, make them think we have weaknesses we don't have and lure them in, then we'll strike. They think we're just a standard team of one Jonin and three Genin, although we technically are they will be very wrong"

"So we're acting weak?"

"Indeed, so hold in your skill and act like you're fresh out of the academy"

"Weaklings it is! I'm going to act like stick up the butt Emo then! Hinata, who are you going to copy?"

She put on a thinking face contemplating the various options "Either Sakura or Ino?"

"Please don't… you'll be worthless" she smirked in response "Isn't that the plan?"

"Who do you want me to act like?" Ah Newby, hmm a valid question since he's a wildcard "Just act like yourself, they won't look at you anyway, just tone it back a bit"

He shrugged "True enough" except for the whole nature manipulation thing, totally normal…

The next couple of days was simply excruciating! Three Chuunin/Jonin acting like spoiled fresh out of the academy Genin, it was a disgusting display!

* * *

( Four days later )

It was time for the fight, finally they'd arrived! Naruko's tail had popped up giving us the clear signal that they'd approached, we continued to spar as if nothing happened until Baldy suddenly stopped. He gave us the signal to get on high alert and shouted "I know you're there, come on out!"

Two men soon appeared from behind the trees, they walked towards us with such overwhelming confidence and arrogance… they smirked "Took you long enough, it's time for you to die brats, you've had your fun as Genin. The world doesn't need spoiled brats playing Shinobi"

"Brother… we both know you just like torturing brats, at least be honest with them before they die a slow and gruesome death"

The first man's smirk grew wider "You're right, I'll take my sweet time tormenting the three of you, making you watch each other as I lynch you, the sweet screams that'll echo through the area!" he began to shiver in ecstasy at the sheer thought as he licked his lips

"That's more like it! As for me, how about you give up that old man over there? I haven't popped any bones in a while"

"Tss the screams are way better, you and your bone popping…"

"What?! No way, the sound of bones crunching and sticking out of the beautiful flesh is glorious!"

Two total maniacs if you ask me… "You three take the left one, I'll take the right. Don't let him touch you"

"Finally you're getting the picture, damn right old man, fight me!" the bone popping maniac made some distance "Don't get in my way bro, have fun with your brats! Katon: Incinerating wolves!"

Flames began to gather on the ground before him and formed three wolves, they acted as if they were alive and even growled! "These are my lovely pets, they'll toy with you until you die old man"

"Don't take all the fun bro… Suiton: Four Tormenting Spears!" the other maniac now had four spears made out of pure water hovering above him, they were obviously sharp as hell looking at the speed they were spinning at… these guys weren't pushovers by a long shot

"Change of plans, Naruko and Yuuto you fight together. Hinata you'll stay with Tazuna and support them if possible. Get to a safe distance"

"Hai! Tazuna-san follow me!" they ran a short distance away "Tss, not like they can run after I kill the two of you, I'll catch up to them in a bit… but first I'll have my fun with you!" he ran towards us with a sadistic glean in his eyes

"Yuuto, get ready, I'll distract him!", "Got it"

"Suiton: impalement!" the four spears shot towards us, Naruko dodged the two aimed towards her and began flickering all around the guy "Doton: Wall" meanwhile Newby tried stopping the other two with a wall. The spears pierced through it instantly! "They're sharp!"

Newby was struck by the two spears and looked at them in wonder "That's one brat down, tss you die way too quickly" although that didn't seem to be true at all. Newby turned into stone and fell to the ground, the real one slowly appearing from the ground "Doton: Impalement"

Four spears appeared above him similar to the ones the maniac had made and shot towards the latter with high speed. He dodged the incoming spears with a surprised look on his face "How the fuck did you do that?!" the water spears meanwhile returned to him "You can copy techniques? Fine, at least you make it a bit more interesting! Let's see who's spears win!"

He didn't pay attention to Naruko as she slowly but surely became less and less visible as the camouflage technique kicked in. He was totally focused on Newby for obvious reasons, someone copying your technique isn't something you see every day, although it wasn't really a copy but still

"Suiton: Needle rain!" the four spears shot towards him and suddenly split apart into four smaller spears each, sixteen spears were shooting towards Newby. "Doton: Rock Dome"

The instantly formed dome managed to block the smaller spears as they almost fully penetrated the thick rock "So they lose penetrating power in return for a larger number"

"Seems I can't go about this half-heartedly, you two are actually somewhat decent. Fine by me Suiton: Tormenting formation" two additional spears appeared in his hands together with spikes appearing on his joints, he was a close-range fighter judging by this?

He ran at Newby as the four water spears reformed and continuously shot towards him, this time they didn't stop after missing however. Each time a spear missed it would shoot back at a slightly different angle. Newby continued to dodge spears as they came from every side, none of them managed to hit him so far but this was only because he was able to focus solely on the spears. The maniac hadn't come close enough yet to fight with the others luckily enough, and he wouldn't be able to

When he almost got in range a sudden claw made out of lightning appeared from his right ready to take off his head, the man ducked "So the other brat's got some claws, where are you kitty cat?"

"Suiton: Water scythe" he swept his hand in an arc as one of the spears turned into a massive three-meter scythe, the scythe didn't stop until it had done a full circle and reformed as a spear. It was a strong attack but also opened him up for attacks as he loses one of the two spears

Naruko apparently thinking the same had ducked under the scythe and tried to sweep him off of his feet with a lightning covered leg "There you are!" he jumped up to dodge the leg and stabbed one of the spears where the attack came from. Naruko was still camouflaged but it was obvious where she was when a lightning attack shaped like a leg attacked you…

"Doton: Shifting earth!"

The earth underneath Naruko shifting taking her with it, the spears missed their mark "You're actually making me work for it, this'll be all the sweeter!" the maniac continued to run towards Newby, he'd finally gotten close and tried to stab him with five water spears from all sides

He was unable to dodge, five of the spinning rock bullets that had formed around him went to intercept the spears. They didn't manage to destroy them but you could see the spinning had lessened, they'd gotten weaker. He held up his hand to stop the spear directly aimed at him. The spear got destroyed when it touched his hand, the other spears hit him but a sudden scraping sound could be heard as they failed to penetrate, they slid into the ground next to him

The maniac grew alarmed as Newby suddenly took hold of his hand, he tried to stab him with the remaining spear together with a spiked knee going for Newby's gut. This however failed, he was struck by a lightning covered claw that appeared out of nowhere, a large gash appeared on his back as he cried out in pain

He halted his attack for a split second which gave enough time for Newby to shoot his remaining rock bullets. The man was stuck, he couldn't dodge! The maniac clenched his teeth in frustration and suddenly dark lines formed on his skin, a large shockwave of water erupted from him in a dome and blocked all the incoming bullets and claws. Naruko was forced back but Newby however was in trouble…

He had taken hold of the maniac before and wanted to let loose and escape "Suiton: Water Prison"

He'd been taken prisoner… "Fucking brats that hurt!" the maniac angrily shouted, the wound on his back healed and he looked at his prisoner "But now it's time for one of you to die" the four floating spears circled around the water prison pointing towards Newby. He tried to escape but failed as he saw his impending death circling around him

Naruko had become serious however, six tailed versions of her appeared around the man _**"You won't kill my friend!"**_ and lunged at him with red crackling claws

"Suiton: Crucifixion!" the four spears shot at Newby and skewered him! The maniac quickly escaped afterwards with glee in his eyes "One down!"

" _ **Yuuto!"**_

The black lines further began covering the maniac as his power over water grew, small drops of water began floating around him together with the spears which had turned to eight instead of four… "This power, it's exhilarating!" if he was a maniac before then now he was even more so… he looked at Naruko with hunger in his eyes "Nono, you won't save your friend!"

"Suiton: Needle Rain!" all the droplets turned into small needles and shot at each of the Narukos, they were however blocked by her shields "So small attacks don't work huh, fine then! Suiton: Crucifixion!" the eight spears shot at one of the Narukos with four more having formed from all the droplets

She tried to run but found herself too slow, the spears instantly penetrated the shield and impaled her… she popped in black smoke "Tss wrong one, five more to go then!"

Naruko tried attacking him from all angles as claws shot towards him "Suiton: Twin Scythes!" two scythes now five metres long arced around him and cleaved two of the Narukos, the claws were turned into nothingness from the sheer power of the scythes! "Three more to go! Come here little kitty!"

"Suiton: crucifixion!" the spears shot towards one of the Narukos which had gotten close, she managed to dodge as one of the others grabbed her and threw her out of the way. The maniac lunged at the clone that saved the other and pierced her with a spear he struck at her "Two more!"

"Doton: Bullet Rain!" over fifty bullets suddenly shot from underneath the ground at the maniac, he quickly did a seal "Suiton: Water Dome" and tried to protect himself, four fifth of the bullets were stopped but about ten still managed to penetrate it, they'd lost a lot of their power but it was enough to cause harm

The man screamed in pain as one of the bullets cleanly shot through one of his arms making it useless, the others only managed to cause scrapes or small wounds, they made him bleed, but it wasn't enough. "Suiton: Exploding Dome!" the water dome burst into a small maelstrom, Naruko and her clone managed to dodge it just in time however

He growled at them "How did you survive brat, I killed you!"

There a small distance away stood Newby, his clothes were destroyed and showed that he indeed was penetrated by the spears. Next to him stood Stutter still with hands over his closing wounds "You bitch, you healed him! How dare you!"

In a crazed stage he shot towards the two and ignored the damaged arm, he was in a frenzy and seemingly ignored any damage dealt to him

The eight spears shot at them with insane speed as the man kept the droplets around him for other reasons. One of the Naruko's left tried to strike him with a claw as she swiftly appeared behind him, the droplets instantly became a shield and blocked it. The man quickly turned around "Suiton: Water Scythe!"

The last of the clones got sliced clean through and disappeared. Naruko stood next to her teammates "He's strong… I lost a lot of chakra when he destroyed my clones"

"Hn, can you make three new ones?"

"I can, but not with my tails"

"Good, make them and continue to attack him with ranged attacks. Switch to shooting lightning bolts at him, we'll keep our distance and stall the fight."

They forgot one key part of that pill he took, it repaired damage… his damaged arm was already fully healed! He continued to attack the team with his spears as they were forced to dodge, even with three of them it was hard to beat this one man…

"Kannon's Rage: Infinite Armed Murder!"

Baldy attacked him from out of nowhere with hundreds of red fists, the man was beaten into the ground and struggled to get up "It seems I'm on time, good work team"

"Sensei! You managed to defeat the other one?"

"I did, he was strong especially with that pill he took, but I managed to beat him in the end" I looked at the area they fought at and saw the body of a man against a tree with his head caved in from blunt force trauma, his whole body was a mess and it only showed how much damage he took before going down, no wonder we were having trouble, even Baldy was forced to go serious!

Our maniac got back up as his wounds healed "You, you killed my bro!"

His frenzy had gotten even worse after the death of his brother, he looked at us with such intensity that it was just unreal "I'll kill you! Suiton: Extracting Moisture!" he ran towards Baldy but it was unlike before, the entire area around him withered and quickly died as more and more water gathered around him!

"Suiton: Crucifixion!" the entire clearing had soon withered and the man's own skin was also rippling as if he took moisture not only from around him, but also from himself. This technique was a last resort!

The man fell to the ground as over fifty fully formed spears gave Baldy no space to escape "Buddha's Protection!" "Doton: Rock Dome!"

The shield around him turned thicker together with a solid rock dome forming around him because of Newby. Naruko began sniping the incoming spears out of the air with lightning bolts to decrease the force of the attack… around thirty spears were left when they reached the dome, they lost power when they penetrated it but managed to fully go through it…

We stood there in silence not knowing if Baldy survived, the dome crumbled and we saw Baldy slumped on the ground with five spears impaling him, one in the chest and four in his limbs as he protected his most crucial areas

"Sensei!" he fell on the ground unconscious, stutter ran towards him and turned him face up, she began healing him and I really hoped she was in time, I liked Baldy…

He was still alive but barely, he breathed erratically and a pool of blood formed around him. Two full minutes of silence later and his erratic breathing began to calm down, his pale face regained a bit of its colour but he remained unconscious "He's alive, we should take him to safety!"

We quickly picked him up and rushed towards the house and lay him in bed, he began somewhat regaining consciousness and opened his eyes, he tried to speak but still failed however…

"Don't worry sensei, you're safe, we won"

He slowly nodded and closed his eyes "He's asleep, I'll keep an eye on him tonight, Naruko and Yuuto rest up in case something happens"

"Will do" Newby walked to a corner and slumped to the ground in exhaustion, he'd been wounded badly and lost a lot of energy in the recovery but he deserved it. He did good work I have to admit

* * *

( Two days later )

Baldy had finally fully recovered from his wounds, he'd begun walking again but said he was still not at full strength and it would take a while. Apparently he'd put a ton of chakra into his shield and that combined with his earlier fight proved too much, he'd need at least a week to fully recover.

"Sensei, what happened in your fight?"

"Well, unlike your foe that used water, mine used fire. He summoned his fire into wolves and used them to attack, my fists did nothing to them as they weren't solid so I was forced to go on the defensive and wait for an opportunity. He used some fire attacks next to the wolves and kept his distance while the wolves stayed in close-range. He mostly used fire bullets and some kind of fire nova that forced me to retreat when I'd gotten close, he was a true counter to close-range fighters"

"I'd finally managed to get in some good punches after a few minutes and wounded him, he took one of those black pills that the thugs used as well and grew stronger. He summoned more wolves and they became bigger, the force of his attacks just about doubled"

"Then how did you win?"

Baldy smirked "I used an E-rank Jutsu, I made him trip with a rock when I ran towards him and he backed away. I continued the attack as he stumbled backwards and got blocked by a tree, I then finished him with the infinite murder, it was a tough fight…"

"The two of them were Jonin without those pills, their powered-up form was dangerous to say the least. But there must be some drawback to those pills, for instance these two didn't explode when we killed them"

…I think I've got it, the explosion is chakra releasing itself! If you make them use all of it then they don't explode, the pills draw upon their latent chakra! "Miauw Miauw!"

"Sensei, the pills draw upon their latent chakra apparently, if they run out of chakra then they don't explode!"

"…You're right, both of them used a final technique when they were about to die, they consumed all their chakra. Those pills must surely slowly kill them, they draw chakra from somewhere so it can't be good for them"

Still, a couple of Jonin that accept their deaths and you've got a massive problem, imagine a group of those going against a village, they would deal massive damage!

"So, what now sensei?"

"We're going to help finish the bridge, I don't expect Gato to attack us again now that we've taken out two strong men. Tazuna expects it will take two more weeks, we'll combine this with training and recuperate from the battle. I've noticed that I have a severe weakness so I'm going to begin working on that, I expect the same goes for you as well"

"Hn, we were no match for him after he took that pill…"

"Indeed, but you managed to survive against a stronger foe. Think about what you could've done better and learn from it, learn from mistakes"

* * *

( Two weeks later )

Tazuna and a small part of the village was waving us goodbye as we left, finally we're done with this kami forsaken land. They seem to have regained hope, even if it's false hope… they were still in the grasp of Gato, we weren't able to kill the man and he'll continue to exploit the lands, the only difference is that he now has a bridge to control as well…

We continued on our way home, it was a short journey as nobody stood in our way and we didn't have any client to hinder our speed. It'd taken us only two days with rests included. Only a short bit away from Konoha an Anbu with a cat mask appeared before us "Chiriku-san, it's good to see you and your team. The Hokage requests your presence immediately"

"I was already on the way to him, why the hurry?"

"Confidential, don't make him wait" she disappeared as quick as she appeared, great mask though

"You heard her, double pace"

So we soon reached his office, it was only a few minutes away anyway so not that it mattered… "Come in" we entered his office to see the oldy looking at us with a grave expression, no porn or pipe in sight

"Close the door"

Baldy did as told "Hokage-sama?"

"First off welcome back, I'm sorry for the situation but I have to speak to you. This question is of utmost importance, did my Anbu arrive to assist you?"

"…No, they didn't"

"Homura!"

The door opened "Yes Hiruzen?"

"Put Samirah Nara on the missing-nin list immediately and send out the teams!"

"Hai!"

The door closed "Missing-nin?"

"Indeed, it seems the two Anbu we sent to help you have gone rogue, at least one of them has… we found the body of one of the two and thought it to be an attack at first. But it seems that is not the case"

"But why would someone go Missing-nin just like that?!"

"This is confidential, Chiriku, you and your team must not speak of this. The Anbu that turned traitor is Samirah Nara, you know of their intellect correct?"

"I do"

"Then imagine a Nara that isn't lazy, one that doesn't like looking at the clouds, a Nara with such intellect and skill that she grew to detest her own family"

Oh damn, that's bad, we have another maniac on our hands, a smart one!

"Is she that dangerous?"

Oldy gravely nodded "She is, she'd been hiding her skill apparently, according to reports she was already A-rank, but I think she's closer to, if not already, S-rank"

"So we have another Itachi on our hands…"

"Indeed. Keep an eye out, there's no way of knowing what she will do. You and your team have deserved your rest, I expect a mission report in one week, well done all of you"


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, never will, don't even want to. I do want some sleep though, and… well that's about it? This is the second of two chapters I've put out today, please read the last one as well or you'll miss part of the story.  
**

* * *

Why would the Hokage oldy want us at his office? I don't recall us doing anything particular that would draw his attention except for maybe the disappearances of fish and whatnot… but we're supposed to be quick with our hands right, food missing without a trace just means we're doing well in our training!

We entered his office as the oldy was smoking his pipe, looking at us with a calculating gaze "It's good of you five to arrive so quickly, not that the matter at hand has to be hurried. It's still a good quality to have in shinobi to be on time, not like a certain Jonin I know…"

"Hokage-sama"

"Chiriku-san, you must wonder why I've called for you and your students, correct?"

"I do, although I can speculate about the reason and if I'm right then I must say that I don't agree with what you want to ask of us"

The oldy smiled as he tapped out his pipe "Do tell"

"You want to enter them in the Chuunin exam"

He smiled at the response although it seemed it wasn't just that, there was something else "Partially correct, well actually technically you are correct, but not in the way you assume"

"Sir?"

"Do you really expect me to put your team in the regular Chuunin exam? Three special cases that I would blatantly display to the world putting a target on their heads, I don't think so. If word comes out that we have a Genin that can manipulate nature chakra, a Jinchuriki that can use six tails and especially someone with Light chakra then all hell would break loose."

He's kind of got a point there especially since the three of them are still young, they wouldn't be outright killed I think but kidnapped for sure, especially stutter…

"No, that wouldn't be the wisest of decisions… over the past few months especially combined with the mission in Wave and the skill they have displayed I have come to the conclusion that their skill is already up to par for Chuunin rank, if not higher. That however doesn't mean I will give them the rank just yet, they still need to show a certain few qualities. For that reason I will put them in the Chuunin exam… as helping examiners. Ibiki, you can enter"

The door opened to which a man with a multitude of scars on his face entered "This is Morino Ibiki, head of the Torture and Interrogation Force. He will be holding the first out of three parts of the exam"

"I am to assume you three are the brats that I have to judge?"

"Hey! We're not brats!"

Scar arched his eyebrow "Your attitude shows otherwise, at least for you, the other two seem calm and collected if not a bit nervous"

"Ibiki please don't agonize them just yet, you'll have more than enough time for that later. As I stated, you three will be placed in the Chuunin exam, during the first exam you will help Ibiki in the examination of the Genin. You will also add a few ideas of your own into his exam design"

"And if you disappoint me I will fail you straight away, I have no need for useless trivial suggestions"

Oldy coughed "Let's worry about that later shall we?"

"Fine…" he was clearly not to excited about us helping out in his exam…

"Hokage-sama, I don't believe my team is ready to become Chuunin yet. They have yet to learn the art of leadership and battle tactics, they may be high level in skills but that is useless if they aren't trained in leading a team"

"A valid point, I have judged the progress of your team so far and I have to say that they are extremely competent in the areas they've been trained in. The ones that haven't come to order just yet will be addressed in the coming six months I presume?"

"That is correct"

"Then they will have the Chuunin rank but still remain under your leadership until you deem them strong enough, you will judge when they are ready to lead teams and act separately"

"That would be acceptable, I presume you want them to aid in this examination so they won't have to showcase their skills in an exam outside of our borders?"

"Indeed, now then, you three will follow Ibiki to T&I. This won't just be to work on your task, you will also be evaluated mentally, you are the most promising team we have and we want to be sure it stays like that"

"Hai Hokage-sama"

"Meeting adjourned, I wish you three luck, you have two weeks until the exams begin"

Well that was surprising, we don't even have to complete a bunch of menial missions?! That's just awesome, no wasting time for us! The old man isn't so bad after all, and not to mention we won't be stuck with all those brats, instead we will be allowed to take pleasure in torturing them… how fun!

We walked to the T&I building, it seemed a bit boring from the outside and eerily quiet, people avoided it apparently. The doors were wide open, a complete and utter hussy was standing in the opening though, a fishnet shirt that exposed her bra, pants that her butt cheeks just about fell out off and boots that belonged to a prostitute…

"Ibiki, are these your new victims?!" She licked her lips "Let me join in on the fun, especially the virgin brat over there, let me have a taste of him!" like I said, a hussy…

"Isn't he a bit too young for your tastes Anko?"

"No way, I bet his blood tastes the sweetest out of all of them!" whoah what! That's' just messed up, he may not be the greatest but no eating my brats!

"Still the answer is no, they aren't here as… victims… they are here to aid me in the coming Chuunin exam"

She immediately burst out laughing "You're ordered to babysit some brats?! This is hilarious, Big old meanie Ibiki the babysitter! Don't worry kids, he's a real pro at baking, you should see him with his apron on!"

A kunai flew right next to her face as it cut her hair and cheek, killing intent radiated from scar as he was not all too pleased "You want me to teach you some interrogation techniques with you as the subject?"

"Only if you ride me like a real man, I don't need some wimpy babysitter without a spine"

"…I might just take you up on that offer, show you what other tools I have in my possession"

She licked her lips with glee "Do they vibrate? I hope they give me a little bit of pain as well or I won't make a sound, you want me making sounds, don't you?"

Baldy coughed loudly as his face had grown red "I believe my students are a bit too young for your topic, could we continue at a later time?"

"Two baldies to share the fun with, my lucky day! The quiet ones are always the rowdiest, I can't wait…" her legs became quivering as she walked away with a perverted grin on her face "My place, tonight!"

"…She isn't serious, is she?"

"Oh she sure is, you're going to have a real adventure monk" Baldy nearly fainted from shock as he thought about what just happened and what he had in store, lucky him, but he will need a shield if you get my meaning, and not the one used in battle…

"Sensei you ladykiller, we came to get assessed and you score yourself a girl dattebanya!"

"No! I didn't… no I did… I did actually, oh kami what have I done, I've never even done anything with a girl… I'm a monk for kami-sake, I shouldn't do this!"

Scar patted him on the back "Don't worry, she'll take the lead, how about I take a raincheck for this one and in return I get to torture your brats a bit?"

"You mean it? You'd do that, you'd give me a chance with her all by myself?"

"See it as a sign of friendship between fellow bald men, now get ready for your date, I'll take care of your brats!" wait, no! Baldy didn't listen, he didn't listen to the torture part of your sentence, he's too confused!

"O-okay… I'll do that… see you later team, have fun…"

"Sensei!" we pleaded for him to listen but he walked away in total shock and confusion… we looked back at scar as he had a maniacal grin on his face "You're mine brats"

"Noooo!" my eyes started drooping as I suddenly felt extremely tired, I managed to hold my eyes open long enough to notice some senbon sticking out of the other three, we were drugged… I hate scar, screw him…

* * *

( Some time later… )

I slowly opened my eyes as I woke up, a massive headache pounding on me, the world spun around me and the only thing I wanted to do was sleep… ice cold water splashed onto me waking me up in shock. What kind of hell was this, just let me sleep... I tried looking around myself and saw a blank room with nothing in it at all, there was a door that was obviously closed

White covered the walls with that pillowy stuff put in rooms for insane people, blissful pillowy stuff…time for some sleep then, it seems whoever threw water on me is long gone, so let's not worry about things for now… I found myself a nice spot in the corner but still found it to be too cold

Someone didn't put on the heater obviously, only one thing to do then. I got out my claws and sliced a large piece of pillowy goodness as a blanket, took it to my spot and laid underneath it…pure bliss…

* * *

( Naruko's cell )

Naruko shot up wide awake looking in panic around herself, she inspected herself and found no bruises or wounds 'strange… where am I? I suddenly fell asleep and woke up here…'

' _ **You're in an interrogation cell Kit, one used to break people over time by emptiness and silence'**_

'Oh, thanks Kura! So… they want to test me, lucky for me that drugs don't really work for all that long, what to do…'

' _ **The one thing a cat should do in a situation like this, obviously'**_

'You're right!' Just like Tora she got up, inspected the room and sliced a large chunk off of the wall, she put it around herself and took a final piece to use as a pillow 'Goodnight Kura!'

' _ **Goodnight Kit'**_

* * *

( Yuuto's cell )

Panic overtook him as Yuuto stood in the room 'There's no earth, I can't feel anything around me! What's going on?! It's all white and silent, it's earie and scary!'

' _Calm down!'_

'But I'm all alone, someone kidnapped me again!'

' _No they didn't! Well, technically they did…'_

'See! I'm done for, we're done for, our plan is ruined, we're in trouble!'

' _Will you shut up! You've only been taken to see how you react, this is part of your assessment, calm down and relax!'_

He didn't listen to his other half however and the panic got worse, he began hyperventilating in fear _'Sigh, this is what you get when you split yourself, fine…'_

Yuuto calmed down instantly and sat down against the wall with the door right in front of him _'If you won't shut up then I'll just take over for a while, just calm down'_

He just sat there without moving a single muscle, keeping an eye on the door for any sign of movement and ready to strike at the slightest notice…

* * *

( Hinata's cell )

Hinata woke up and immediately analysed the situation, only a few months ago she would have freaked out. But the shy and easily freaked out girl was already gone… 'an interrogation cell? And a Konoha one at that, Tou-san showed me one before, is this part of the test?'

She got up and took a closer look at the room 'only a mirrored one way glass and door'

Holding up one hand towards the glass she smiled "Light Chakra: Null Reflection" it was a simple skill for her that worked with light, it wasn't all that useful to stop a mirror from working but it was one the techniques she used to train her control. The mirror effect instantly stopped and it was now a simple glass window, she moved towards it and saw Ibiki stand there with an utterly confused and annoyed look on his face, he looked alternately at different locations

'More rooms it seems, the others should be here as well'

"Light Shunshin"

She instantly appeared at the other side of the glass as Ibiki shot up in shock when she appeared right next to him "Hi!"

"How'd you!?"

"It's glass, I can just shunshin towards any place I see"

"Tss, all four of you are an annoying bunch, couple of freaks if you ask me…"

* * *

( Ibiki )

He took the four of them to the interrogation rooms to have some fun, he already smirked at the panic they would experience from the sudden change in situation. He revelled in mentally agonizing his victims even if they were children…

'Bunch of brats making me change my exam, I'll show them, by the time I'm done with them they'll run to their parents and cry… sweet tears of fear'

He threw each of them in a separate room and waited for the fun to begin, the first to wake up were Naruko and Tora. 'So the cat's up first? Hokage-sama told me she's part of the team, so might as well have some fun with her as well… the bloody cat isn't even panicking, it's just tiredly looking around!

Ibiki opened the door and threw a bucket of ice cold water onto Tora 'This'll speed up the fun'

'…She's just not caring at all, what the, she's even going into the corner to sleep further?! And now it's slicing off the foam to make herself a bit warmer?! Fucking cats, I hate cats, fine, the others should be more fun'

He looked at the room next to it and saw Naruko waking up 'You'd better be more fun brat'

… 'At least she's in panic, good she's reacting the way I ho…ped… she calmed down already?! She's going towards the same corner as the bloody cat, she even took the foam as a blanket and pillow?! Fuck this shit, I'm done, totally fucking done, some brat is taking the piss out of me!'

The show in Yuuto's room however was a bit more exciting 'Now that's the proper reaction! Pure blissful panic, he's begun hyperventilating, oh this is great! A full minute already, screw the other brat, this is the one that's going to make me enjoy myself! What the?! The panic is suddenly gone, he's like a totally different person, he's like a battle-hardened shinobi and sitting right in front of the door ready to attack? What the kami is wrong with this brat, he's messed up in the head!'

'One left, she'd better be'

"Hi!"

'Holy shit what the hell! That scared the everliving shit out of me, fucking brat just showed up next to me out of nowhere!'

"How'd you?!"E He just

"It's glass, I can just shunshin towards any place I see"

'Brilliant, just fucking brilliant, I hate these fucking brats, the first two just sleep and don't care, the other acts like he's got a split personality and is messed up and this one can move through fucking glass?!'

"Tss, all four of you are an annoying bunch, couple of freaks if you ask me…"

"You know, the longer you keep them in there the more annoyed you'll get, they'll just sleep for hours on end if you don't stop them you know?"

'She can't be serious, can she? She probably is judging by the fact that the first thing they did was go to sleep… let's just get this over with, the sooner the brats are gone the sooner I can get back to torturing real people…'

Ibiki opened up the cells "You're free to go, come on out, we'll continue with the second assessment"

The split personality brat came out without a word and only glared at me, the other two doors were opened but nobody came out… "I SAID GET THE HELL OUT, WAKE UP YOU BRATS!"

"Five more minutes…"

"Miauw…"

"Suiton: Great Torrent!" he held up his hands towards the door openings and shot the rooms full of water, the brat and cat came out because of the current but they just wouldn't wake up!

"Let me"

The last brat walked up to them "Naruko-chan, Tora-chan, you fell asleep and burned the fish…"

The two of them shot up awake with panic in their eyes and looked around in fear "Where! Where's the fish?!"

"Gone…"

They began crying so much that the water Ibiki just shot at the rooms looked like nothing 'This brat got potential, if only I'd known then I would have burned fish in front of their eyes while they were chained to the walls…'

* * *

( Regular Point of View )

What a damn nightmare, Stutter betrayed us, she lied to us! We didn't burn any fish, there wasn't even any fish! I don't know which is worse though, the lack of fish or the lack of burned fish…

"PAY ATTENTION YOU BRATS!"

Oh yeah the scar dude, I should ask him for that pillowy stuff, it was nice!

"Miauw"

"Yeah, we want some of that pillowy stuff on the walls!"

A tick mark grew on his face "YOU'LL HAVE NONE OF THAT, NOW GET THE HELL TO INOICHI BEFORE I SKIN THE BOTH OF YOU!"

Stutter picked me up and pet me as I had no clue where we were going, apparently to someone else, I didn't really care, I was getting my petting…

We arrived at a different room, this one quite roomy with couches and a table with snacks, a man stood next to it and smiled at us "I'm Yamanaka Inoichi and I'll do the mental assessment, I'll judge you in turns while the others wait here. Any questions?"

He got us food and a couch, pretty decent guy if you ask me "Assessment?" he nodded "my clan specializes in entering the mind, I'll enter yours and talk with your inner self and judge your mental mindscape, if there's anything wrong with you I'll be able to judge it"

Wait he isn't serious is he? He wants to enter the mind of a girl with the Kyuubi in her mindscape, a brat with two personalities one of which is pretty much a killer and an extremely pure girl with light chakra? He's a damn idiot…

"First up is Hinata, the rest of you can wait here"

They exited the room as I went to get some food, only two minutes later however they already returned… "Thank you Hinata-sama, that was a most gracious experience" he looked as if he'd never been more tranquil in his life, apparently what he saw in her mind was so pure he pretty much couldn't handle it

Stutter turned beet red and shuffled to the couch "I think I broke him…"

"Next up is Hinata-sama's most honourable friend Naruko-san, please follow me"

"Hai!" she cheerfully bounced up and went with him, this'll be fun "Naruko-san… on second thought let's not… I think you're perfectly fine, a friend of Hinata-sama can't be wrong" he's just scared of what he'll find inside of her, shame…

"I can stay here?"

He nodded "You can, please relax while I assess the final member, Yuuto-kun please follow me"

* * *

( Yuuto Point of View )

'So it's already our turn huh, did you finish it in time?'

' _I did, we should be fine, just stick to your part'_

He entered the room with the Yamanaka, it was a fairly small room with only two couches and a small table in between. "Yuuto-kun, I'm going to enter your mind and talk to your mind's representation, you shouldn't feel scared or panic. I'm going to place my hand on your head and close my eyes, you'll fall into temporary sleep until I'm done, do you understand?"

"H-Hai, I do"

"Good, please sit down and bend forward a bit so I can reach your face"

He sat down on the couch with the man on the one opposite of him, a hand touched his face and he blanked out, soon finding himself in his mindscape. An all too familiar place to himself, most wouldn't be able to enter here but he could do so freely with his special circumstance of the split personality…

* * *

( Inoichi )

Inoichi appeared in the mindscape of the boy and looked around 'how curious… this is unlike anything I've ever seen' he was standing in a clearing with trees and rocks all around him, the entire area around him was covered in forest and mountains as far as the eyes could see

The clearing however was different, it was perfectly split into two parts, one was pure white while the other was pitch black, he saw a brick wall running straight through the middle of it 'a wall to separate the two halves? But why bricks, and why doesn't it span for the entire clearing?'

He looked behind him and saw a small boy that perfectly resembled Yuuto "Hello! I'm Yuuto, who're you?"

He crouched down to eye level "Hello there, I'm Inoichi, I didn't scare you I hope?"

The boy shook his head with a smile "Nope! I've never seen you here before, are you new?"

"New?"

"Yeah, like the one behind the wall, he doesn't talk though… it's kind of lonely in here"

'Two personalities it seems, and they don't communicate with each other? That's worrying for one so young, at least this side seems friendly and calm' "Do you know what the wall is for Yuuto-kun?"

Another shake of the head "Nope, it's been there for a while now though… but I don't mind, it's keeping me company just like the trees and rocks, I like those…"

"You like the trees and mountains?"

"Uhu! They're calming and peaceful, I love the calm, Nature is my bestest friend!" as soon as he said that a light breeze went through the clearing and trees, some petals fell near Yuuto and gently touched his cheek as if they caressed him 'really interesting, a bond with nature perhaps, a close one at that'

"Yuuto-kun, since when was that wall there? Did something happen?"

The kid instantly froze and seemed both confused and sad, it was as if the body knew how to respond but he himself didn't know why, tears fell down his face as he cried his heart out. Inoichi held him in his arms "Don't worry, I'm here, just calm down"

" *snif snif* okay… I'm sowwy…"

"Don't worry about it Yuuto-kun, is it okay if I go to the other side of the wall?"

"Hn! I tried to a few times but I couldn't though, I hope you can… for some reason I can't get around the corner…"

"I'm sure I will be able to, don't worry okay? I'll be back in a bit"

"Okay!"

Inoichi gave the boy a pat on the head and walked towards the wall, he followed the side until he reached the corner and walked past. He instantly became shocked however… the ground had cracks in it and the air became thin and hard to breathe in 'I shouldn't be affected by this in the mind! Whatever did this was bad, really bad…'

He walked in further and saw another boy, this one in ragged clothes and many bruises and wounds covering him "Hello there…"

The boy's face turned around staring straight at him, his eyes were pure black and hollow, it felt like there was no form of happiness in them whatsoever

" _Who're you, why did you enter our mind?"_

'It knows I'm in the mind?! This one is intelligent, a mind shouldn't know such things!'

"I'm Inoichi, a Shinobi of Konoha"

" _Let me guess, you're here to assess if we're sane or not, be quick about it and get the hell out, I'm struggling to keep the place together as is"_

'Keeping the place together?'

"You're keeping yourself sane, aren't you? What happened that caused this?"

" _You see me don't you, the bruises and scars, the ragged clothes and torn ground. Put the pieces together"_

"You were abused…"

" _Correct, and now I'm keeping mister bubbly idiot sane so he doesn't break down and take me with him"_

"How?"

" _Tss, so many questions, I thought you were a smart one. You see the wall behind you? Look at the bricks"_

"They're solid and form an entire wall, what about them? I know they separate your mind into two halves and therefore you have a split personality due to a trauma"

" _Look closer…"_

He did and inspected the wall, most of the bricks were even and there didn't seem to be anything special… when he reached the borders however he was surprised, some bricks looked like they were falling apart 'It's destroying the wall bit by bit, he's mending the trauma!'

" _Correct"_

"You can hear my thoughts?"

" _We're in my mind remember? Any thought you have are mine to hear, like I said I keep the idiot on the other side sane, I am the representation of the trauma and negative emotions. But I am also mending the wounds inflicted, it will take time but it is a slow process that's required"_

"How long do you estimate it will take?"

" _A few more years perhaps, the most important thing is that the kid is sane, he can perform as a Shinobi. I take care of the negative aspects and keep him in the dark, he needs it to grow, he needs the company of the ones around him. You know what happens if you'd take them away from him"_

"He'd shatter, he'd become a husk"

He received a nod as response _"Now leave, you know the situation and I can't have you disturb my concentration any longer"_

"I will, thank you for your information, goodbye"

* * *

( Yuuto Point of View )

The wall instantly broke down when the man had left, both halves of Yuuto walked towards each other "It worked"

" _Indeed, he'll think we will become one during the coming years, he won't disturb our plans out of fear it would break you"_

"Then we have nothing to fear, he will think twice about entering our mind again because of your warning that it could affect us, I'm heading back outside"

He exited the mindscape and saw himself sitting opposite of Inoichi again who had a smile on his face, the smile was gentle and apparently there to comfort him. He just fooled the man to which the latter thought he was a poor kid with a trauma, it was true, he had a trauma but the situation was not like it seemed

"Welcome back Yuuto-kun, let's get back to the main room shall we?"

"Okay…" he followed him as they went back towards his team, it worked, he fooled the assessment

They entered the main room again and saw his team waiting for him with a multitude of snacks in their mouths, they're idiots, but they're his idiots for now even if he kept them in the dark and acted like a sorry excuse of his real self

"Yuuto-kun, you're back!"

Inoichi smiled at the group as he saw the connection between then, it was a real team already even if they were all really different in personality "I'm pleased to announce that you all passed the assessment, you're free to help Ibiki in his exam and continue the test for the Chuunin rank"

* * *

( Back with Ibiki )

"Okay brats you've passed the first assessment, I don't know how you snotnozed maggots did it but orders are orders… I'm going to explain the first exam only once so listen up!"

"My exam is made to test the way Genin react under stress, they will be forced to fill in a written exam where the main focus is cheating. The questions themselves are far too hard for the majority of the Genin to answer, therefore I will put six Chuunin in the exam that know the correct answers"

"If a Genin is caught cheating they will have one strike, this strike counts for the entire team. When the team has three strikes they automatically all fail the test and therefore the exam"

"There is one final question that is announced thirty minutes prior to the end, I will put psychological stress on them and tell them that they either choose to not answer the question and fail, or answer the question and risk nog being able to enter another exam ever"

"If they choose to answer the question they automatically all pass"

Well that's just stupid… isn't information gathering one of the requirements for Chuunin? If they can't even cheat properly then they're worthless Genin

"Sir, isn't that a bit stupid?"

"…Brat, you're calling my exam stupid? You want me to fail you right away?"

Naruko shook her head "No, I mean making them pass with only the last question…"

"Yeah she's right, isn't information gathering part of our skillset, if they sucked at that then even if they had the courage to continue they're still not worthy of becoming Chuunin"

"Then tell me how you would handle it if you're so good at it, I've done this for many years now so tell me oh genius brats" someone's a bit mad about earlier events…

"What if they have to pass both the written questions and the final question? How many questions are there?"

"9 and 10 if you include the final one"

"Then make them have 8 of the 9 correct?"

Scar smirked "You know, we could actually do that, it's a bit sadistic but you're right, what else?"

Stutter spoke up, something a bit rare in such a situation "Sir, at what temperature is the room? How long do they have? Are they allowed to use their bloodline?"

"Hmm, I think it's 19 degrees, they have two hours for the entire exam and there are no restrictions as long as they aren't caught, why?"

She smirked "What if we made it about 6 degrees so they're nice and cold, it drives up the tension. Next to that we can suddenly interrupt the exam after one hour and tell them that they've probably figured out the meaning of the exam, but that only two of the six Chuunin have all the correct answers even if that's not true… am I allowed to deduct points instantly when I see them use something like the Byakugan or Sharingan? I mean it's pretty obvious that they're cheating if they're using it, and most of the bloodline users are really stressed out if they can't use it"

"Yeah! And how about we randomly warn teams that they only have one chance left even if they've not been caught yet?! That would be fun…"

Scar burst out laughing "Brats, I like you! Hell, I'm going to use all of your ideas, there won't be any damn brats left after we're done with them! You, your name was Hinata right?"

"Yes sir"

"How about you work under me for a while, you seem like a perfect fit for this kind of work!"

"I'm sorry but I can't…"

He sighed "A shame, you would have made a fine apprentice… Anko's going to become so pissed off when she notices that there's no brats left to torment for her, that's making it even sweeter of a plan. Each of you will judge two rows of Genin, you will be provided with a mask and uniform to keep your identities hidden. The exams start in two weeks so we'll work out the fine details in the meantime, we aren't in any rush"

"Okay!"

This is going to be so much fun… "Miauw"

"What about Tora-chan? Won't they recognize her?"

"You want the cat to be part of the exam? Brat my exam isn't a playground"

Excuse me? You think I'm just a damn cat?! I began radiating killing intent as I glared at Scar, how dare he!

"…Wait a minute, you seem familiar… No way, you're That cat! How're you still alive?!"

"Sir?"

"Tora the destroyer, she's been tormenting Genin since I was one!" he began to shudder "I still have nightmares about catching her, two times each week I had to face that nightmare, I thought I was finally done with that… thing!"

Hey, that isn't nice! The first part is though, but the last part!

"Be nice to Tora-chan!"

"…I lost my cool, excuse me brats but that brought up some bad memories. Still, I don't see how I can add her into the exam without compromising it, I can however ask Anko to put her into the second part of the exam? Maybe as an incentive, if they catch her while in the Forest of Death then they'll instantly be put into the final exam and skip the first round maybe? It depends, how good is she?"

I smirked at the idea, extremely good, if I put my mind to it and damn I will if you let me

"About my level? Even I have trouble catching her if Tora-chan's serious"

"Fine, I'll ask Anko to put Tora in the test, but only if she's allowed to use her full force, otherwise it would be boring"

That could be arranged!

"I'll ask dad to send the Hokage a message as well!"

We all smirked at the combined plans "Are we even going to have any Genin left?"

"Nope!"

* * *

 **There you go, two chapters! And the beginning of the Chuunin exam, next chapter will feature Gaara and the first exam. I hope you liked the chapters, have a nice weekend!**


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